Talyn: Rebirth Ch. 6 (Patreon)

Alright, I came up with a name for the LitRPG story from last week, so I'm swapping the name to Talyn: Rebirth. I'll go back and modify the previous post name and tags, to make it easier to find. Here's Chapter 6!

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Chapter 6

The twang of a bowstring interrupted, and the arrow shot between Talyn’s arm and chest to pierce through the hand of the man to the left, shattering the vial he was holding and going straight through his hand. That seemed to shock the two men for a moment, and Talyn knew better than to let a chance like that pass. While the one was cursing and cradling his hand, she acted.

Talyn took two quick steps forward and grabbed the heavy table, grunting as she hefted it. The uninjured man’s eyes went wide, and he protested. “Wait, I had an awesome hand, don’t—”

She ignored him and threw the table at the two of them, to cries of shock and dismay. There was a tinkling of glass and more curses, and the injured man growled on the other side of the table, where the two of them were laying in a jumbled heap.

“Alright, no more mister nice Timmy. I’m going to kill her for that.” The man announced, trying to struggle to his feet.

“You were going to do that anyway.” Melody said, stepping upstairs with an arrow nocked, which she immediately fired at the speaker. The arrow slammed into his throat and he gurgled, then fell backward.

“Timmy!” the other man exclaimed, then slammed the vial back, tossing it away as he moved much more quickly all of a sudden, jumping to his feet. “Oh, you’re going to pay for that. I may not have liked him much, but he deserved better than that.”

“Says the man who wants to sacrifice me.” Talyn said, lunging at him. To her surprise, the man dodged easily, and he lashed out with his short sword.

The sword hit Talyn’s armor hard, and she yelped at the heavy impact that knocked her arm downward, cracking the armor in the process. Her eyes went wide in shock, since that’d been a single hit. She jumped backward, but the man started chasing her, only to recoil when Melody shot another arrow at him.

“Ooh, that was close! No wonder you got Timmy. I’d better take care of you first.” The man said, scowling, and Talyn’s eyes widened as he started to move. She only had a moment, so she did the first thing that came to mind.

Talyn’s sword went fluid, then lengthened into a staff in moments, which she shoved in front of the man’s feet as he got halfway to Melody. He didn’t trip on the staff, he was a little too fast and adroit for that, but he did stumble, and it threw off the thrust he unleashed.

A thrust that slammed straight into the bubble that had surrounded Talyn earlier, shattering it in passing, but the bubble slowed his attack, giving Melody time to sidestep while a different weapon took form in her hand. A dagger appeared just as she stepped forward and cut straight through his throat, spraying blood across the floor.

The man gurgled, his free hand going to his throat. Melody barely managed to dodge as he awkwardly swiped at her, and Talyn paused, taking a deep, shuddering breath as she looked at the two, just… staring. Then her eyes went wide as the body of the first man started to dissolve in front of her, clothing and all. Even the shattered glass was dissolving in front of her.

“Thanks, Talyn. I might have been able to get away without being injured if you hadn’t helped, but I wouldn’t have been able to deal with him.” Melody said, visibly relaxing as the man she’d hit slumped over. “That was good thinking.”

“I was just trying to help. He was too fast for me to deal with normally, and he managed to break my armor.” Talyn said, glancing at the vambrace, which had a broad crack running halfway down it, starting with a large chip where the blade had struck. “How’d he do that? Is it just the level difference? Hell, why’s the one dissolving?”

“Alchemist, and he drank a potion, so I’m guessing that it boosted his speed, reflexes, and strength. I’m pretty sure that the level difference isn’t enough to do that.” Melody said, looking at the bodies thoughtfully as the second began to dissolve. “As to them… since they aren’t leaving anything behind, and the way they’re vanishing looks like my arrows when they disappear, I’m guessing that they’re some form of construct, along with their equipment. I have no idea how that works, I’m afraid. That’s too specific of an ability for me to have been allowed to remember.”

“Drat. Wait, if they’re a construct… are they sort of like you?” Talyn asked, a surge of dread washing over her. “My ability is maxed, or so it says, and if whoever it is can have multiple of them… isn’t that better?”

“Better is a matter of perspective. I suspect that this is a little more complicated than you’re thinking it might be. For instance, it might be that it takes days to create them, they might be lower level than the maker, they might be much lower level than the maker, or any number of other possibilities.” Melody assured Talyn, smiling slightly as she shrugged. “For instance, it could be that if they’re destroyed, they can’t create new ones for a week or a month, plus the time they take to create. There’s no telling what limits were placed on it, and it shouldn’t be quite as impressive as mine. I mean… think about it. I can have a different class from you, have different skills, and I level up at the same time as you do.”

“True…” Talyn said, her worry easing slightly as she breathed in slowly. After a couple of seconds she looked back down at the table. By this point even the blood that had sprayed the room was gone, and the only sign of the battle was the table being knocked over, a couple of the items from it on the floor, and the chairs. There was also only a single exit, which made Talyn wary. She looked at it, focusing on her armor to slowly repair it. Better to fix her armor than to be injured, after all.

“Alright, are you feeling a little steadier, now? That’s the first intelligent foe we’ve faced.” Melody asked, and belatedly Talyn realized that the goddess looked concerned.

“I think so.” Talyn said, flashing a smile as she shrugged. “Sorry… I thought we could talk our way out of it for a second, then…”

“I understand. Either way, let’s keep going. I don’t know who would want to sacrifice other people off-hand, but I’m sure there are plenty of cults that would.” Melody said, manifesting her bow again, along with another arrow. After a moment she admitted. “I’d feel much better if we were higher level, admittedly… the only beings lower level are level one, and I suspect those are primarily children. It isn’t nice to know you’re at the bottom of the food chain.”

Talyn couldn’t help laughing, a smile pulling at the edges of her lips as she nodded. She didn’t say anything more, simply nodding in agreement, then focused on the door, which was blocked by a doorway again. She hesitated, then nodded, shifting the staff back into a sword. That felt more comfortable than her staff.

After a few seconds she stepped up to it and glanced back at Melody, quirking an eyebrow. The woman nodded, and Talyn slowly eased the door open. This one was better than the one below, which almost made her think that the shoddy construction was on purpose. It’d certainly make it easier to tell if someone came through the door.

The door opened to a long hallway, which turned left at the other end, though there was a door that seemed slightly odd set into that wall. Talyn couldn’t tell what exactly made the door strange from this distance, but there were three doorways set into the hall, one to her left and two to her right.

No one was in the hallway, and Talyn paused, then glanced back, murmuring. “What do you think? Check each door as we go, to make sure no one sneaks up on us?”

“As I prefer to remain unperforated as much as possible, I agree.” Melody replied quietly, smiling a little wider.

“Right, then. Literally, since that’s the first door.” Talyn said, slowly moving down to the first door.

She listened at it, but didn’t hear anything. She paused, then opened it cautiously… only to be met by a rank scent, and at the sight of the ancient privy, Talyn hastily closed the door again, gagging softly. The scene within had been horrifying. She quickly moved away from the door, still feeling a little nauseous, and only relaxed when she was six paces away.

The next door she listened at had faint crackling sounds, but Talyn didn’t hear any creatures, so she opened the door… and stopped, her eyes going wide.

This room was enormous, easily six times the size of any others she’d seen, and the moldering pews that had been dragged out of the room’s center told Talyn what it had once been. Or was supposed to look like, she supposed. However, attached to four pillars around the room were torches that provided a little light, and whoever had been in the room since then had obviously been working hard. A huge circle made of white powder was in the center of the room, along with complicated symbols inside it. In the middle of the circle was a stone altar, two sets of manacles with a patina of reddish-brown liquid attached to each side of the altar. There was also a knife with a black blade resting on the altar, and a woman kneeling in front of it.

“Did I not say to leave me to my prayers until it was—” the woman snarled, jerking to her feet and spinning around. The Level 13 Human had dark hair pulled back in a bun, a pretty face, and wore ragged, dark robes with inner vestments of bloodstained white. Her blue eyes went wide, then narrowed suddenly as she hissed. “Heretics! You dare enter the holiest chambers of Our Lord of Blood? You will appease him with your blood!”

“Well, there goes any chance to talk, I suppose.” Talyn commented, resignation overcoming her shock.

The woman let out a shriek of anger, snatching up the dagger, which had a jagged, stone-like blade, and pointed at Talyn, who decided that she ought to be elsewhere. She jumped to the side just before a jagged shard of stone the size of her fist appeared in mid-air and launched itself through the spot she’d just vacated. There was the sound of a shattering stone an instant later when it hit the wall, and Talyn heard Melody mutter something under her breath. It made her wonder what deities swore by, but Talyn put it out of her mind an instant later. She had bigger problems to deal with, namely the woman throwing rocks at her.

Talyn ducked, barely avoiding the second rock that went over her head, and rolled to the side, swearing under her breath as a third rock clipped her side, jolting her almost off her feet, and she felt the armor crack, though not as badly as when the alchemist had hit her. She was afraid that the woman was going to follow it up, but then an arrow flew across the room and hit the woman in the shoulder, throwing off her aim. The rock shattered a cobblestone next to Talyn, but her relief turned to worry when she saw the arrow hadn’t penetrated the woman’s robes. At least she was clutching her shoulder, so she’d been hurt, but that was… bad.

“Damnable heretics, you’re all alike! The only solution is to drown you in blood, blood!” the woman screamed, and Talyn decided that she was a bit insane. Unsurprising if she followed a deity of blood who demanded sacrifices. Talyn grabbed a handful of the white powder as she clambered to her feet. The woman turned on Melody, throwing another rock, but the goddess had already dodged behind the wall, causing the woman to shriek in rage again.

Talyn raced toward the woman, randomly jerking from one side to the other, which helped a little. Of the next three rocks, two went wide, but one hit her torso hard, slowing her down and shattering a section of the breastplate. She barely managed to jerk aside before another rock slammed into her, but it was close. Unfortunately, the woman also managed to dodge Melody’s follow-up shot, which worried Talyn.

“So, why blood?” Talyn asked, rolling to the side and gauging how close she was.

“Why blood? Because it must run, it must flow, and then all will—” the woman began ranting.

Talyn threw the powder at that moment, which hit the woman in the face and shoulders. She recoiled, gagging and rubbing at her eyes, and the trail it left made Talyn think that she’d just thrown salt at the woman. Still, it was an opportunity, and Talyn would be foolish to ignore it.

Lunging forward, Talyn brought her sword down with all the strength she could muster, and it hit the woman across her collarbone hard. It was like hitting a table, and Talyn grunted as the blade shuddered in her hands, a jarring shiver hitting her hands that almost numbed them, and there was a cracking sound as the blade snapped in two where she’d hit the woman. The other half fell to the ground and began dissolving into a black mist, while Talyn froze in shock.

The only saving grace was that the woman didn’t come out of it unharmed, as she cried out in pain, her left arm practically limp. Then she brought her dagger around viciously, and Talyn only caught a glimpse of the obsidian blade before it hammered into the side of her chest. The force of the blow sent Talyn flying to the side, and she gasped at the shattering sound. Only belatedly did she realize that the cracking had been the sound of the knife snapping, not her armor, as the blade fell to the ground at the woman’s feet.

“Damn you!” the woman screamed, swiping the blade through the air viciously, and Talyn realized that the woman must not be able to see, since she didn’t seem aware that Talyn had been thrown to the left. “I’m going to make you suffer and bleed for that, until you plead for death, then I will—”

A twang split the air, and the woman was interrupted by an arrow plunging through her open mouth. Talyn flinched, climbing to her feet again, but hesitated as she realized that her sword was far shorter than it had been. She glowered at the blade for an instant, then turned her attention back to the woman as Melody spoke.

“You’ll eat an arrow? Because that looks like it’s what you’re doing. That and dying.” The goddess said, watching warily, another arrow nocked and waiting.

Fortunately, it seemed that Melody was right. The arrow dissolved, allowing the woman to spit blood, but she didn’t manage much more than to stagger a couple of steps before she fell over, shuddering. Then she went limp.

That had been close, and Talyn breathed in, checking her status absently as she did so… and her eyes went wide for a moment. Then she put it out of her mind, as she had other things to worry about.

Name: Talyn

Level: 1 (515%)

Species: Succubus (War, Contract) (0%)

Abilities:

Demon Eyes (2%)

Demonic Armament (1%)

Demonic Durability (1%)

Enhanced Charisma (2%)

Minions (Contract) (0%)

Summon Guardian (MAX)