Forest of Desire (The Alchemist Book #2): LitRPG Series Read online

  “We’re almost there,” Keran called back happily when he saw some familiar landmarks. “We should be in time!”

  Far behind them, the steppe lit up as Berad attacked the night creatures. A battle broke out that the crystal fence was definitely going to win, though it both slowed his progress and gave away his position in the process. The fugitives had put some serious distance between themselves and their pursuers. Climbing up the incline, Keran pressed right up against an overhanging stone wall and waved.

  “Right here! It’s the passageway!”

  It was true. As soon as Tailyn got up close, he found that one of the stone walls was a bit farther than the rest, and there was a small cave opening into a dark and narrow tunnel right on the other side. His scanner showed him the passageway running straight as an arrow for at least the nearest hundred meters.

  “Even if they’re amazing trackers, they still won’t get here before daybreak.” Keran made no effort to hide his excitement, almost as though it was his home away from home in the Gray Lands. Pulling a lantern out of his inventory, he drove back the darkness. But the amazing part was that the light disappeared the moment you took your first step outside the wall. Not a single ray of light escaped the cave.

  Keran continued.

  “But that won’t help. When the sun comes up, these walls close to form two posts, so they’ll think we left through a portal. This passageway cuts twenty kilometers straight through the mountains, dumping us in Tartila Mine on the other side. The Forest of Desire isn’t far from there.”

  Tailyn checked his map. It didn’t have the passageway, or at least it hadn’t before, as that time there was a line leading to the edge of the white mist and a label that read Tartila Mine. Perception and cartographer apparently integrated with each other to fill in names. And that was awfully convenient.

  Keran apparently considered that enough of an explanation, gesturing for the lix to place Valia on the rocks. His hands glowed, and a few moments later the girl gasped as if waking up from a terrible dream. After lying there for a while with eyes gazing thoughtlessly off into space, she squealed in horror when her wandering gaze fell on Ka-Do-Gir.

  “Easy, girl, easy,” Valanil said from right next to her. “It’s okay.”

  “But that’s…” Valia was having a hard time getting the words out. “It’s…”

  “Yes, the same lix. It’s all right, Ka-Do-Gir is with us for now, and we’ll figure everything out later. Tailyn found you. He’s here, too!”

  “Where?” The terror on the girl’s face changed to hope, but that was when Keran coughed to grab everyone’s attention.

  “It looks like everyone knows each other, so I’d like some explanations. What were you doing with the lixes, and how did it happen that Forian Tarn’s student happened to be in the Gray Lands? Nobody moves until I figure out who’s who. Tailyn, we’ll be having a separate conversation. Okay, let’s get started. My name is Keran Tisor, authorized representative of the academy for special affairs. I’ve been given the right to pass judgement and make decisions outside the emperor’s sphere of influence, and because, as we all know, the Gray Lands do not belong to him, if I don’t like your answers, you will in turn not like the consequences. Okay… You, Valanil Revolt, level 21, solid parameters, completed the first year at the academy. Currently the Culmart herbalist. Why don’t I remember seeing you during the fight there?”

  Valanil had a hard time swallowing her anger. The mage was an acting professor at the academy and a conceited snob who thought the world was at his feet to fawn on someone as great as him. But because she needed to be exactly the person Keran wanted to see, she forced herself to forget her pride and tinge each word with submission and resignation. That was the only way she’d be able to get her revenge. The stuck-up prick who so easily read off her personal information was added to the list, and she couldn’t help but wish she’d left him in the cage.

  “During the attack on the city, lixes broke into my workshop, and I was stunned and kidnapped before I knew what was happening. Tailyn saved me, after which I began training him.”

  “You weren’t given the right to become his mentor,” Keran broke in. “Tailyn already has one!”

  “I didn’t say I was his mentor. I’m perfectly happy being a simple trainer — Tailyn is an alchemist, and I’ve been teaching him how to use potions and a sword. That’s all. As for how I ended up with the lixes…”

  Tailyn stared at Valanil in shock as she started to describe how she’d been taken prisoner. He’d never seen her so docile. Was Keran really such a big shot among mages that the proud herbalist was okay giving in and telling him everything?

  “Got it. That’s enough for now, but we’ll come back to you. Okay, and who are you?”

  “You don’t have the right to ask me anything, mage.” Valia had completely recovered. Getting to her feet and straightening up proudly, she replied, “My name is Valia Levor, daughter of the Duke of Carlian. I am the empire, and the academy’s investigators hold no power over me.”

  It was an open challenge, but Valia wasn’t giving in. Even there, in that forgotten tunnel far from home, she had to be strong. Tailyn was watching…

  “I recognize your right to remain silent,” Keran said through his teeth. It was clear how difficult it was for him to pronounce the words, but he could do nothing when faced with the law. He didn’t have the right to interrogate the aristocracy.

  “You!” Keran’s gaze fell on Ka-Do-Gir, and a card appeared in his hand. Needing an outlet for his rage, he turned to the six-limbed creature. It was time to calm his nerves.

  “Don’t you dare!” One leap later, Tailyn was standing between Keran and the lix, his palms held up defensively. “He’s my prisoner, and his life belongs to me.”

  “Step aside,” the healer said, blood filling his eyes. He could ignore the slight from the duke’s daughter, but he wasn’t about to take anything from a lowborn kid who’d somehow managed to end up in the same cave as him. Without his usual OGM-IV, he had to use his cards the old way, pulling them out of his inventory, reading off the code phrase, and blowing the dust off them. He decided two icicles would be perfect for teaching the boy a lesson. Obviously, he was going to heal him afterwards, but it was going to be something the whiner remembered for a long time. Only he wasn’t given the chance. Suddenly, the boy, who should have frozen in fear, yelled over his shoulder in the lix tongue.

  “Lix, attack — don’t let him use his card! Just don’t kill or cripple him!”

  By the time he finished speaking, Tailyn was already throwing himself forward. He knocked the surprised Keran down, pulling out his staff as he did and landing his hardest blow. Ka-Do-Gir was already on the spot. Latching on to the mage’s arms, the lix yanked them away from his head before he could activate his magic. Keran, in turn, was so surprised he didn’t even put up a fight — it didn’t make sense that simple people would ever lift a hand against an academy mage, especially since Tailyn was trying to get into the academy himself. Meanwhile, Valanil held Valia tightly and watched what was going on silently. A satisfied smile spread unsuppressed across her face. Tailyn was doing exactly what she’d taught him, and he was even doing a good job of it, his mysterious staff doing 275 damage to the mage with each strike. Ten blows later, the healer’s face was a bloody mess, and he’d slipped away into unconsciousness. But Tailyn didn’t stop there. Pulling out his rope, he nodded to the lix to tie the mage up.

  “Well, my boy, I very much hope you recognize the consequences of what you just did,” Valanil said when the deed was done. For a little while, the two just stared at each other, finally taking a simultaneous step forward and throwing their arms around each other. A few moments later, it occurred to Valanil that she was happy hugging Tailyn. She really was glad the little bugger had shown up in the Gray Lands and whisked her away to freedom. With that said, she also knew she couldn’t feel what she was feeling. It could ruin her plans, and so she pulled herself away with an effort. Doin
g her best to conceal her true emotions, she took a step to the side, freeing Tailyn up for his next embrace. And he didn’t mind. He’d been waiting for it for more than half a year.

  “Hi,” Tailyn whispered, his eyes closed in delight. Just a simple touch, but how precious it felt. The aching emptiness in his chest was finally filled. In the space where his heart beat, there was something small missing that on occasion kept Tailyn tossing and turning at night. But in that moment, it was filled with Valia’s warmth.

  “Hi,” he heard her reply. “I knew you’d come for me.”

  Tears welled up unbidden in the girl’s eyes. Sure, she was supposed to be strong and brave, but she didn’t need to with her boy there. It felt for some reason like her problems were behind her, far behind her, with nothing but happiness and joy awaiting her in the future. Tailyn was going to handle everything.

  Their childishness was completely foreign to Valanil. She was busy watching Keran, and her heart suddenly grew heavy — happiness was replaced with firm resolution and an understanding of what she had to do. While Tailyn had gone to town on the man’s face, there, a few minutes later, the bruises were almost gone. And while some might have thought the healer was somehow turning his magic on himself, Valanil knew all too well how the wounds could close that quickly. It was regeneration. The attribute the Crobar school had bought from the god was right there in all its glory, wielded by an acting professor at the academy and an enemy of that same school.

  Valanil crouched down next to Keran and gave him a slap on the cheek. The mage’s eyes opened instantly, though the healer placed a finger on her lips to tell him to stay quiet. And while he was about to tell her where she could shove her finger, the woman leaned over and whispered in his ear.

  “Mark Derwin, founding father.”

  The healer’s rage left as though blown off by the wind. He was suddenly a dangerous, capable fighter, and he replied after counting off the requisite seconds.

  “The absorber from Earth.”

  Valanil placed a hand on Keran so he could activate his healer connection, and then she completed the pass phrases.

  Crobar will stand forever.

  Crobar will save the world. Greetings, sister! What gave me away?

  Regeneration. You can’t control it while you’re unconscious. Don’t touch the boy — the Lord has his eye on him and gave me the right to be near him. Help the two of us get into the academy. That’s the will of the Lord.

  I’m not in charge of admissions, so I can’t help with that. But Tailyn can recharge his cards. He’s going to be a powerful weapon in the war against the mages!

  One of Crobar’s foundational principles was that if someone gave the pass phrase and wasn’t struck dead by divine intervention, they could be trusted completely. They’d graduated from the school and were on a mission. In fact, hiding information was forbidden — nobody knew who would be able to report back to the Lord. The more Crobar agents knew what was going on, the more accurately their information would reach the right ears.

  I already reported that back to the Lord, so he’s aware. There’s a lot Tailyn can do. He even unlocked regeneration.

  I knew it! I told Forian we should take the kid with us to study, but that idiot turned me down… Tailyn, just the first initiation stage. So he can get around the limitations to buy attributes.

  Is Forian your mission?

  Yes.

  A mission… That surprised the woman, as it turned out Keran was a serious opponent. He didn’t look the part.

  Where is Forian?

  I don’t know. We got to Tartila Mine, but a brown lix attack separated us. I don’t even know if he’s alive or dead since we weren’t in a group.

  Is there anything I should pass on to the Lord if I see him first? Besides Tailyn. For example, why you headed into the Gray Lands?

  No, I already reported back on that. We need to head into the Forest of Desire — that’s where our target is. Only Forian had the coordinates, but we still need to look. It may be in the general’s tomb.

  What may be?

  I can’t tell you that, sister. Double prohibition.

  Understood. Sleep, brother. May you dream of a better life.

  A long needle appeared in Valanil’s hand, and she instantly plunged it into Keran’s heart. The healer’s eyes widened in pain and confusion, though there was nothing he could do. Even crying out was beyond him — Valanil had her other hand over his mouth. Knowing Crobar would squeeze everything they could out of Tailyn before tossing him away, the woman wasn’t willing to turn him over. No, she was going to raise by herself a powerful killer capable of standing up to both the mages and their hunters. The two of them were going to carry out her plans. She was going to be avenged. Turning around, however, the herbalist locked eyes with Ka-Do-Gir, who was the only witness to the murder. Neither Tailyn nor Valia had noticed anything. The two were still locked in each other’s arms, nothing in the world mattering to them besides each other.

  “If you want to live and come with us, you won’t say a word about what just happened. The mage died on his own,” Valanil whispered in the lix tongue. “What do you need Tailyn for?”

  “I was thrown out. My name is forgotten. But before I go to my rest, I need to do my duty with honor, and I can’t leave with debts around my neck. The count is six to two in favor of Tailyn right now.”

  “You’re not going with him a free lix — I won’t let that happen. Running off once was enough. If you want to repay your debt to Tailyn, you’re going to be his servant until your oath is fulfilled. Then, you can go. I won’t agree to anything else.”

  “What do you care?”

  “Because I’ll cut anyone’s throat for his sake.” Valanil’s hiss was filled with such venom that even Ka-Do-Gir, who had been through a lot, fell silent and took a step backward. It was obvious the woman wasn’t bluffing. He’d seen what she was capable of with his own eyes.

  “But I can’t always be with him. If we get out of the Gray Lands, they’ll separate us at the academy, though they’ll leave you as his servant with him. And nobody will care that a mage has a lix as a servant. There’s way worse than you there.”

  Ka-Do-Gir thought to himself. What the woman was offering terrified him — becoming someone’s personal servant meant losing yourself, losing your freedom. Not so long ago at all, he would have laughed in the dangerous woman’s face and prepared for death, but with nothing left, it didn’t seem so crazy. Seeing the lix’s indecision, Valanil pressed her advantage.

  “I just recently figured out that Halas is Tailyn’s personal enemy. The black lix will do everything he can to destroy the kid, and if you’re next to him, you’ll be able to get revenge for yourself, as well. Nobody took your name away.”

  That did it.

  “Agreed. I’ll be Tailyn Vlashich’s personal servant.”

  “Hey, kids, enough of the cuddles!” Valanil yelled, and Tailyn and Valia blushed as they took a step away from each other. “Listen, my boy, I have two pieces of news for you. The first isn’t great… You overdid it just a tad, and your mentor lost a friend. But I don’t think Forian needs to know the details.”

  Valanil had nothing to lose by tricking the boy. Keran’s level hadn’t been high enough for Tailyn to get a notification or attribute boost, and even if he already had nine kills ten levels higher or more, he presumably wasn’t keeping track. And that meant he wasn’t going to suspect a thing. Hearing the news, Tailyn’s jaw dropped as he ran over, placed a hand on Keran, and groaned. The mage’s heart was no longer beating.

  Loot received:

  67553 gold.

  37226 coins.

  Herbalist’s Bag (1).

  ***

  Active Marauder attribute detected. Analyzing body…

  Active protection against marauders detected.

  Your attribute level: 2. Active protection level: 20.

  Activating security protocol…

  Security protocol: complete decomposition of
everything within 1 meter.

  The mage’s body vibrated strangely before it and the stone around it disintegrated into fine powder. Valanil had reacted instantly, knocking Tailyn away and jumping clear herself as soon as she saw the body begin to shake. Cursing to herself that she hadn’t thought to ask about the attribute, she turned to the boy, who was rubbing the back of his head.

  “You unlocked marauder? Were you going to tell anyone? It’s dangerous! What were you even thinking…? No! How did that even occur to you? It’s pointless against mages since they get active protection after the third year at the academy, and it’s useless against everyone else. What were you planning on stealing from peasants? The baron’s orders for new taxes?”