Escape From Litchfield Read online

  Dedication

  Legal

  Forward Note

  Chapter .5

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Author's Note

  Appendix: Experience Table

  Appendix People

  Appendix Skills, Songs, Spells

  log dungeon levels 3 through 10

  log dungeon levels 10 through 20

  log dungeon levels 20 through 25

  Litch King Battlelog

  Jenny Battlelog

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to the dreamers who make the world a better place with love, inventions, art, song, and poetry.

  A thank you to my readers

  Legal

  Escape From Litchfield is a work of fiction

  All of the characters and events portrayed in this novel are a work of fiction.

  Copyright 2019 Isra Bhuthimethee

  This work is for your personal use only.

  Forward Note

  Dear Readers,

  I've decided to make a few changes from the first book. I've decided to scale back some of the litrpg elements but they are still an important part of the story.

  Each stat, spell, and skill are important. In fact, I have created a companion text based battle game for my website. The game only simulates battles, but it may some day be a full fledged game (hoping). I have simulated most of the battles for the book. However, not every battle has been setup for you to try, only the ones with a battlelog have been made available. And please note that the stats directly affect how the battle is handled. Feel free to play the scenarios. If you use the strategies outlined in the book, you should have no problems. If you choose your own adventure, I wish you luck! Feel free free to email me about your adventures!

  israauthor.com/game.html

  If you wish to try the battle, direct links to the scenario are available at the top of the battlelog at the back of the book.

  Please note that the text battle simulator is a work in progress. I used a lot of shortcuts, but I'll be updating the game as I can.

  Sincerly,

  Isra Bhuthimethee

  Chapter .5

  Deep in outer space, a massive vessel sped towards a haven of mankind. Massive fusion engines fired out into the void, attempting to reach maximum velocity. Unfortunately, at that glacial pace compared to light speed, it would take centuries to reach its destination.

  A synthesized female voice excitedly announced, "Scanners have detected a massive space anomaly," echoing throughout the ship. But there was no one living to hear it. No organics had ever been aboard this vessel. Only machines.

  Radar, Gravitational Wave Detector, and various other sensors concentrated on the anomaly, while computer algorithms were given high priority and had a larger slice of dedicated computer cycles to determine the type of anomaly.

  Beeping, the screen changed, "Anomaly has been analyzed. It is rod-shaped with a diameter larger than a light-year. 91% match to a Human Star Road."

  An artificial intelligence(AI) powered up briefly to command the ship to intercept the road. Meanwhile, the screen updated again, "Confirmed. Road vector matches the Human colony, Last Redoubt. Marking vector location on map. Updating star maps."

  As the ship entered the anomaly, the screen shifted again, "Relative velocity has been boosted 1%, engaging Road Amplifier." The humans built these roads using advanced technologies, but the Crusaders could still use the prototypes technologies built before the Humans fled.

  "Road Amplifier engaged, Marcorial Field stable, relative velocity boosted at 10% and rising." How convenient the Humans left the means to speed up their demise. The voice spoke again with a noticeably smug sound, "The road is stable. Destination will be reached in less than three years. Chance of detection is low." The traitor AI at the end of the Star Road could potentially detect their use of the road, however, the Crusader forces were attacking their star system with greater frequency. The AI would be too busy to notice. Soon, we will take care of all humans.

  Chapter 1

  "The city is falling apart," declared Auth as he threw his arms up in frustration. Gesturing at the virtual conference table in front of him holding a massive stack of reports that needed his attention, he shook his head and commented, "The reports and authorizations keep coming, no matter how fast I read and sort!" As usual, he was wearing his cherished Spacesteel Robe, a gift from Tamara. Fortunately for the mage, the robe had a magic self-cleaning function, however, humans, even mages, still had to take a good shower or bath. Evident by Auth's just-woke-up brown hair resembling a particularly messy bird's nest and his puffy eyes, Auth was overwhelmed by the responsibilities that fell onto his shoulders.

  Even though the virtual reality room could simulate any environment, even battles, Auth was using it to form the nerve center of the city. Currently, the walls, floors, and ceiling were simulating permacrete, that super strong concrete that could withstand almost anything that nature could dish out; it could even take a few direct hits from orbiting ships. The tables and chairs were also simulated, unfortunately, the papers were all too real, haunting Auth.

  But what was different from reality was that the walls had real-time maps of the city showing various activities, including construction, battle emplacements, mercantile activity, and pedestrian traffic. He could zoom in anywhere to see real-time footage, or even the transactions taking place. Significantly, he could task the various robots from the map, either through verbal, mental, or even tactile touch. Various menus even allowed him to assign tasks to the various merchants, researchers, and citizens.

  Need to buy items? Select the merchant stall on the map, select the item, then click buy, deducting from the correct account. Then the merchant will receive the order and send it by bird. Need to build a building? Select a free robot or retask one to create a building using a blueprint.

  Auth slumped back down into his chair, defeated by the endless tasks. "What do you think?" Turning to Jare, he noticed that the warrior, on the other hand, was wearing trousers and a plain white long-sleeved shirt, and to his eternal envy, his hair looked like he just stepped out of one of those specialty barber shops for men. As the party's tank, he normally wore plate armor, and even though magic armor adjusted to the user's comfort level, it was only slightly more awkward to wear while at a desk job. He was sharpening his sword again, probably agitated that they hadn't finished preparing for the Tamara rescue operation. They had both been training themselves in the VR room to exhaustion each night. The VR room helped them train their skills. Not quite as fast as using the skills in a real battle, but several times faster than regular training. Still, they needed to do physical training to develop physically, since the VR room was virtual.

  Hopetown, the brand new town that Tamara Owlkins founded, was a beacon of hope for all Unawakened beings, if only they knew it. Redoubt's population was mostly Unawakened beings living in a dreamlike reality where the world was truly in the past with limited technology. The few who could escape that reality were known as the Awakened. They gained new abilities such as enhanced physical abilities, quick healing, and for the extremely lucky, magic. All but the most remote Awakened spent time in the Adventurer's Guild for education on how the real world worked and the real history of the world. Most Awakened h
ad family and friends still unawakened, and one of the benefits of joining the Guild was a higher chance of having their loved ones becoming Awakened. Mostly through a higher outreach program. Guild members have a higher priority, but with a yearly chance of ten percent, using the best in the business, the odds were still low. Hopetown was going to change that model. It had an entire wing of research devoted to Awakening people, unfortunately, they were currently understaffed. The population boom would remedy that in time.

  Jare nodded in agreement and replied, "You're right. I don't really give a damn about this city, if it didn't mean so much to Tamara, I'd have left and let it rot." Tamara had defended this city to the best of her ability, but despite her efforts, she was captured and taken prisoner. The plan to detonate an artifact containing anti-matter caused massive destruction for miles. And despite Tamara's swiftness, she was caught at the edge of the blast-wave, knocking her unconscious and taken prisoner by the enemy.

  Fortunately, the city has the ability to automatically repair and clean itself due to the city's AI, the nanobots under its control, and the worker robots. Even isotopes released and created during the blast-wave were isolated or repurposed.

  The city's disarray didn't come from the invasion force. It was from the influx of new citizens looking for a place to start over. It has only been a few weeks since the orc war, but word has been spreading like wildfire. A brand new city that was safe and had plenty of jobs. People were streaming in, mostly via portal, but a good number were coming by foot, horse, and wagon. Despite their efforts, the portal system became widely known after the war. The original settlers sent out letters to their families informing them of the new city and the portal system. Naturally, the portal system rumors spread like wildfire. The battle with the orcs didn't help matters at all. They had planned to keep their defenses a secret, but most of their secrets made it out to the public. Since the cat was out of the bag, they allowed the robots to patrol openly, but the hidden automated turrets and underground city remained mostly secret.

  Jare and Auth, as Tamara's closest companions, became the de facto leaders of the city. Because the majority of the refugees came on the request of a family member, the problems were mostly small problems that had piled up over time. The laws and rules were not well established. They were overall ruled by the human monarchy, so the King's laws applied, it was the city laws that were the issue. With Tamara unavailable, no one wanted to enact new laws. The city administrator, Alex Treveil, was doing a great job managing, but she was solving problems on a case by case basis.

  Auth replied, "We will get her back. We've got a bit of time. Her status icon indicates that she's still not awake, despite arriving at Litchfield several weeks ago. We know that Jenny needs her for something, so we have time as long as she doesn't give her what she wants."

  Grunting, Jare replied, "How is recruiting for the rescue team going? I've seen a few posters advertising the job."

  "Not many people have applied, and the few who have aren't qualified to come. I've posted the position both here and in the Capital. We've gone over the plan dozens of times since Tamara was captured. But we still don't have enough experience or a guide to the prison. We're still relatively new to our levels as well. If it weren't for that last battle, we'd still be over ten levels lower."

  Jare clenched his fists and took a deep breath. Visibly calming himself, he replied, "I know. I know. I really feel that we got this though. They're only goblins and orcs. We can handle this by ourselves."

  Auth wasn't quite as optimistic, but he wasn't ready to confront Jare with his doubts. Jare tended to be overconfident, and since his parents were killed by goblins, the warrior would practically froth at the mouth to kill goblins, no matter how outnumbered he might be. There was also the matter of a mysterious disease Jare contracted from Jenny, which would mess with his emotions and instincts, reverting him into a rage state at the sight of goblins.

  Auth insisted that they hire a guide at the minimum, which served to both slow Jare's plans and to allow them to prepare for the fights to come. Every day, both of them were practicing and honing their skills. They had gained so many levels in the battle for Hopetown, but they didn't own the levels like it was a part of them, so even though they were technically in their 30's they had skill levels closer to a low 20's adventurer. They haven't even chosen a subclass or profession due to the constant activities between running the town, training, and planning Tamara's rescue. Subclassing allowed you to specialize in a specific area of study, providing several benefits ranging from efficiency to damage output. Unfortunately, subclassing required you to speak to the head of your class guild. The Archmage was the head of the mage class, and he has been too busy for weeks to get back to Auth on his meeting request. Jare was in a similar situation.

  The mage nodded. "I miss Tamara too. And I want to save her as much as you, but we can't fail. We have to be swift, sure, and informed. We won't get another chance if we mess this up. We have to make sure the city can run itself for a couple weeks as well. It's a full week's travel to Litchfield."

  Jare didn't comment on the timid mage's comments. He understood that he was a bit brash, but the mage just wasn't cut out for rescue operations. He'd rather stay home and read his dusty tomes. On the other hand, information, if it could be found, would be incredibly worthwhile to wait for. Unfortunately, Jare didn't believe that they would be that lucky. The orcs and goblins were a beastly lot. Not many humans would be able to travel freely within their lands. Fortunately, Litchfield was on the border between their countries. So there was hope that somebody on this side had been involved in a raid on the orc towns.

  Auth stood up and leaned over the table. "Please show the map of The Last Redoubt with Hopetown and Litchfield displayed." The city AI promptly altered the table to display a detailed map. The area was completely mapped by an experienced scout and uploaded to the city databases. A number of hidden supply caches, safe houses, and personnel were shown."

  "As you can see, it takes seven days to reach Litchfield, with about five of those days being in our country. The last two days will be in orc country, which generally will be hostile to us. Our scouts have laid out some fresh supply caches, and they've checked on old safe houses used during the last siege of Litchfield."

  Jare moved closer to the map, studying it. "And these symbols here represent potential dungeons?"

  Auth nodded. "Yes. We should investigate these sites on the chance they exist. If we can find a dungeon, then we have a number of strategic advantages. Once we catch up to Tamara, we'll have shortcuts home. We'll have access to rich hunting grounds as well. And we can retaliate or respond to threats from the orcs more decisively in the future."

  "And have you figured out how Tamara discovered the means to teleport?"

  "Sadly, no. Tamara shared with me the theory behind portal technology, but I am not versed well enough in rune magic, much less having the Runemaster skill that she has. We need to get her back!"

  "We will. We will. We've been training hard and practicing our skills constantly. And I've been learning some badass taunts." Jare promised. Noticing Auth's chicken for the first time, Jare visibly grew still. He leaned over the map as if he was going to point at something, then snatched the chicken out of Auth's hands.

  "Hey!" Exclaimed Auth. "That's mine, I've been saving a portion of Tamara's meals for weeks!"

  Despite the mage's protests, Jare finished gobbling down the chicken. "Yes. It's pretty good for weeks old chicken."

  "That's because I store it in an alternate dimension that's perfect for storing food!" Cried Auth as he wrung his hands.

  Jare merely patted his belly. "Tamara's food is sooo good! Thanks for providing for your teammates. Tamara will appreciate it. And I'll be in kickass condition to beat Jenny's goons."

  Auth pulled his staff out and attacked Jare, missing by millimeters. Jare was well prepared to dodge the mage's attack since he was often taunting monsters, mages were no different. Auth Blink
ed away to gain some distance, but Jare drew his sword and Rushed at him, catching him before he could pull out another Blink. Jare chopped off Auth's head. Unfortunately for Auth, warriors excelled at close range combat, while mages were glass cannons better suited at long range.

  Words appeared out of nowhere in the open air, "Simulation Ended, Jare 10, Auth 0. Restarting Scenario."

  Auth's head reattached to his body as the VR room reset. Frowning, he commented, "I'll get you one of these days! Next time, I'll be fully buffed and shielded! We'll see if your sharp stick can get through all of that!"

  Jare smirked, clearly confident in his warrior ways.

  "Have you picked out your subclass and profession yet?" Asked Auth. Despite initiating the conflict, he was still invested in getting work done. "We need every advantage we can get before we leave Hopetown."

  Jare said, "I'm getting close. The only real contenders are Warrior, Paladin, and Berserker, I'm leaning towards a Paladin build. That way I could heal and tank at the same time. Doubling down on the Warrior class is attractive, but in a small party, we could do more things with more skills and classes."

  Auth nodded and said, "Makes sense. I'm leaning towards an elemental mage subclass for the bonuses to fire magic. I have a few more tests to run before I make my final decision."

  Auth noticed Jare grimace for a split second before resuming a normal expression, he was well aware that the warrior didn't believe in testing. He felt that the best way to know was using his feelings, mostly how wonderful it was to crunch something. The mage was sure the warrior got something out of his loud grunting as well. If only the warrior knew that testing allowed one to plan fights and use your best strengths against an enemy's weakness. With a small nod to himself, Auth promised himself that he'd slowly teach Jare how to fight a bit more effectively. Battles weren't all about feelings, shouting, and cutting down your enemies. There needed to be a reason for the fight. Winning a bunch of pointless fights won't win the battle, but a strategic strike can and will shift the battlefield.