Chapter One: Welcome to a New World
Lincoln slowly woke up as he felt the sun warm his skin. As he rolled over and got up to stretch, he noticed something very off; he wasn't inside his house, let alone his room. He looked around as he saw nothing but an open field with flowers and rolling hills with an strangely familiar scent in the air; honey. He then noticed his body was covered in studded leather armor with a scabbard and sword next to him. One the scabbard was the word "Louddraya" written in cursive with gold in the lettering. As he tried to figure out what was going on, he heard the sounds of yelling and screaming echo across the land causing Lincoln to quickly get to his feet while grabbing his sword.
Soon, Lincoln found the source of the commotion which was a woman running from a goblin army. The army was slinging rocks and arrows at the woman as they chanted 'Kill the girl, eat the flesh!" Lincoln was having none of this as he ran in front of the army only to truly realize that he truly was outnumbered. The goblins only snickered as one of them went to attack the boy only to be sliced in half. Pissed, the rest of the army charged after Lincoln but a spark of radiant light struck another goblin causing them to pause for a moment. Lincoln turned around and saw the woman being chased earlier; however now that she wasn't running, he got a better look at her. The blonde hair, seafoam green robes and a scowl that was more frightened than anything his oldest sister could form; it was Leni but her ears were pointed like those of some elves.
"Leave him alone!" Leni yells as her hands were wrapped in flame before sending a blast of fire toward the army and, unfortunately, Lincoln. Lincoln did manage to dodge in time but the goblins weren't as lucky as most had been turned to ashes from the attack. As the remaining goblins fled for their lives, Leni quickly ran over to Lincoln and pulled him in for a hug while lightly sobbing. "OMG! OMG! Are you okay!? Did they hurt you!? Do you need medicine? A cast? Life support?!"
"...Air" Lincoln muffled out as he freed himself from his sister's death hold to get some fresh air. After getting breathing back, Lincoln observed the surroundings a bit more and saw a plume of smoke a bit away. "Hey Leni, I see some smoke over there."
"Maybe it's a town. I can totes go for a bath and nap right now. I've been chased by those things for like a long time." Lincoln nodded as the two made their way to the town. Along the way, they began to talk about what was going on and where they were but with their combined efforts they could only come up with the idea of they were in the Mages of Mazes game which made Lincoln a bit nervous. Lincoln at least had a few months of knowledge when I came to the game but Leni just started playing yesterday. And if Leni was her, could the rest of his family be here as well? Thoughts swirled around in Lincoln's head only for Leni to place a hand on his shoulder.
"I know they'll be alright." Lincoln was shocked for a moment before she continued. "If they're together like we are then I'm sure they'll be fine if not better." Lincoln gave Leni a soft smile before lifting his head high. They continued their conversation as they entered the town of Meadows Peak causing the two to be stunned by it. They walked through the town and everyone Lincoln described and wrote down were here; Dani the baker, Levett the blacksmith and even the captain of the town guard, Locsire. Lincoln had to take a moment to really process everything he was seeing while Leni guided him to the Cherry Row Tavern. Inside was more NPCs and characters including the always chipper barkeep and owner, August Henway.
"Ah, new faces. Haven't seen those in a while. Welcome to The Cherry Row Tavern. What can I get ya?" August said while slinging a rag over his shoulder and showing off his trademark missing tooth smile. Leni had asked if they had a room that they could use, which August gladly gave them for the price of 3 copper pieces a night. They did have the money they needed for a week of shelter before Leni went to the room to get sorted while Licoln ordered a drink. As he stared into the liquid, only one thing came to his mind; are his sisters safe? He quickly swallowed before making his way to the room to make sure Leni was at least okay. He pushed open the door to talk to Leni but she was in the washroom humming with the sound of light splashing mixed in.
"I guess some thing don't truly change" Lincoln chuckled to himself as he took off the armor while gathering things for his turn in the bath.
Meanwhile:
Lola and Lucy found themselves running for a dragon. Why? Because they both decided it would be a great idea to steal the dragon's horde for gems and gold. They dashed, ducked and dove over any obstacle they came across and the dragon was still in hot pursuit of the thieving duo. Lucy threw her daggers at the beast but it did little to no damage as Lola tried to throw firebolts at it but it was immune to it. The two decided to split up to lose the dragon which only kinda worked as the dragon focused its attention on Lola. Lola ran as fast as could only to trip over her feet and landing face first in the dirt. The dragon slowly stalked the princess of the Loud family as he reared back readying to roast her with his fire. Lola slowly got up but she wasn't afraid; she was pissed.
"You… Made… Me… Ruin… My… Clothes!" Lola yelled before stomping her foot down causing the land to shake and the dragon to lose their balance and send the fire to the sky to burn some leaves. As the dragon fell over, Lola slammed her foot again causing the ground to open up causing the dragon to fall into the hole while letting out a desperate screech. The dragon tried to crawl out only for its claws to be hit by a flurry of arrows. Lola looked around up and could see the silhouette of a woman with a hand crossbow aimed at the dragon. Upon jumping down, Lola realized it was Lucy; her new darker skin tone had helped blend in with shadows. Before Lucy could ask if Lola needed any help, the dragon reemerged with a look that could kill a village in mere seconds. They continued their woodland chase until the three found themselves at the base of a cliff with the dragon blocking the girls' path.
As the girls huddled together as the dragon reared back once more; the fire visible from its maw. As it looked like the two were about to be roasted, a yell could be heard from above them as a large boulder crashed between the two parties. On top of the boulder, was a woman wearing what looks like bandages covering her chest and loincloth that covered her crotch. Her skin was gray with black marking across it with two black lines under her eyes.
"Hey! If you wanna kill them, you'll have to kill me!" the woman said as she slung her large ax over her shoulder with a look of murder on her face. Lola and Lucy opened their eyes at the voice of the woman only to be greeted by freckled buttcheeks causing Lola to yell. "Lynn! Cover your tush!" Lynn paid no attention to her younger sister's request as she was locked onto the bigger threat at the moment. The dragon welcomed the challenge as it blew a fireball at Lynn which she quickly dove out of the way causing the fire to scorch the cliff. Lynn rushed the dragon and readied her ax while Lucy entered the shadows once more and aimed her crossbow for the perfect shot. Lola still had fear by her side her two older sisters took on the beast
Lynn swung her ax, slicing the dragon's leg while Lucy took a couple of shots at the dragon's eye to blind it. However, the beast wouldn't go down that easily as it manages to swipe its claw across Lynn's stomach, making her bleed as well but that's what Lynn wanted. As she saw her blood drip down onto the ground and down her leg, a fire lit inside her; a fire that coursed through her body and made her already hulking form even bigger. Lola saw the look in Lynn's eyes and knew it far too well as rage. Lynn let out a monstrous roar before swinging her ax wildly with most of her hits cutting through the dragon like a hot knife through butter. The dragon howled in pain as the team of Lucy and Lynn proved to be too much for it. In one final attempt to do damage the dragon slammed its claw down on Lynn, pinning her to the ground and crushing her bones with just its weight. Lucy was running low on arrows as Lynn couldn't fight back in the current position leaving Lola the only hope for them
Lola was still shaking in fear but knew that she had to do something if it meant saving her sister. She shook her head and processed to charge at the dragon while throwing her fist. As she did, sparks of lightning started to form around her hands and as her fist connected with the dragon, a loud crackle of lightning could be heard with the dragon and Lynn taking most of the impact from it. For a moment, the dragon looked fazed but soon it fell over with its body smoking and the light in its eyes long gone. Lynn gave Lola a thumbs up while Lucy gave her a rare smile of approval as Lola ran over to Lynn. Lucy and Lola help Lynn to her feet before finding a place to rest and heal after that chaotic battle.
Elsewhere:
Luna, Lisa and Lana were currently riding in the back of a hay cart while Luna was strumming her lute. The three had woken up near a road and thankful it didn't take too long until the cart came by. The driver agreed to drop the trio off at the nearest town if they entertain him for the trip. During the trip, Lisa tried to figure out what was going on while tinkering with her robotic dog, which she named Mechanical Utility Terrier (or M.U.T. for short). Meanwhile, Lana on the other hand was rolling around and chewing on the hay without a care in the world. As the cart rolled down the road, Lana couldn't help but notice the lush fields of grass, crops and animals; most of which she had never seen or heard before. She would ask the driver which he was happy to answer and give a bit of information about them; from the creatures biology to which ones are good to eat.
.
As the two continued to talk, Lisa jumped in with her own question. "Excuse me sir but do you know where we are? We're kinda lost." The driver gave a big smile before speaking in a joyous voice. "Well, right now, y'all in the countryside of Russtale! A land of some of the freshest breads, sweetest fruits and the most delectable meats! We trade with all our neighboring such as Ludrain, Bospol and our most lucrative trade partner, Louddraya!" The three paused for a moment after hearing that last name. The same name Lori used when they fought the necromancer in Lincoln's game yesterday. Lisa was trying to make sense of everything when Luna just blurted out "Dudes! We're in the game world! Which means…" Luna played a couple of notes on her lute before a few small sparks of light shot out of it causing the rockstar to squeal with delight. She began to cast a few other spells with her lute as Lisa wanted to refuse but the evidence was too much to deny. From Lana's scaly skin to the new floral and fauna she was surrounded by to even the fact that her own skin was now blue in color; there's no mistaking it, they were in the game of their brother's creation.
Lana on her part was just as excited as Luna knowing that she was magical with her own teachnics. She took a deep breath while focusing on herself before her body began to shift and change into the form of a mouse. She scurried around the cart before rolling in the hay out of pure joy and bliss. After she had her fill, she returned to her more lizard like self and just laid back and sighed in happiness. Lisa however was a little more hesitant using her magic as she wanted a more controlled area to test and practice her powers. To Lisa, this was just too unreal to truly believe; there's no scientific reason how any of this could happen
As Lisa was on the verge of a mental breakdown, the cart stopped outside the front gates of the town of Meadows Peak. "Well, here you go ladies. Hope you find our little country as welcoming as I was." The trio got off Meadows Peak cart and waved at the driver as he countied to travel down the road heading to who-knows-where. The girls entered the town and they were greeted by the town with some taking note about how they were the second set of new faces they saw today. Lisa inquired what the people meant by that which they replied with how they saw a blonde girl and white haired boy entering the Cherry Row Tavern. With that information, they headed to the tavern, hoping the white haired boy was who they were thinking of.
Meanwhile:
As the sun hung high above their heads, Lori was sweating buckets in her armor while Luan was happily walking in her loose clothing. Luan, with the upper hand, began to make puns at Lori's expense ranging from dragon ones to cat ones she was on a roll. After the 20th pun, Lori had enough and shot a bolt of lightning at her sister, sending the cat comedian a few feet in the air. While Luan fell to the ground Lori flung off the armor causing her to let out a sigh of relief as the breeze cooled the sweat. Luan chuckled a bit seeing her older sister in nothing but a cloth set of underwear before making jokes.
"Wow Lori, I always knew you were the breast sister but you really bared all the reasons why." Lori turned toward her and got in her face. "Luan! Seriously! You need to focus. We if our siblings are in danger. They could really use our help." Luan calmed down from her laughing fit before taking the situation seriously. "Okay okay, I'll stop making you the ass of the joke" Luan took a moment before realizing what she said "Sorry, force of habit. No more jokes until we find the others." With that, the sisters pinky promised on their new goal while they continued to travel under the unrelenting sun.
As day turned to night, the two looked around for shelter for the evening before catching a view of a cave with a dim light coming from it. Lori quickly put on her armor as the two treaded lightly toward while readying themselves for a possible fight. They peered into the cave and were welcomed by the sight of three of their younger siblings surrounded by a campfire and enjoying a meal. Lori and Luan rushed inside, yelling the girls' names, as Lynn, Lucy and Lola welcomed the older two with open arms and tearful eyes. They talked and laughed as the Luan's jokes were a bit of a comforting change to them with the hectic day the younger three had.
Before long, the fived decided to rest for the night as they had a long day ahead of them as they were united in their own goal to find the remaining members of their family and get back home.
Deep under the surface
The sounds of footsteps echoed on the cobblestone flooring as a pale skinned woman walked her halls. She was tall, slender and the look on her face could kill a man that dared glance at her. She was followed by hulking rock golems carrying a struggling Rita and Lynn Sr. who were pleading for their freedom. The two were tossed into a cell while the woman got closer to the caged couple. "Let us go! Our kids need us!" They protested causing the woman to let out a cackle of joy.
"Oh no. You three are the key I need to set my plans in motion and I can't let you go so sound." Her voice was calm and cold as she ran her fingers across the bars of the parents cage.
"Wait three? But you only have-" Before Lynn Sr. could finish his sentence, another rock golem was carrying a sleeping Lily gently. "IF YOU DARE HURT MY BABY GIRL, I WILL-" But once again Lynn was silenced with a wave of the hand as the woman took Lily in her arms.
"Like I said, you three are the key. The rage of a father, the sorrow of a mother and the blood of an innocent child. Once I obtain all three, I can release my master and send this world into darkness and despair! And why stop there." She moved closer to the bars with a wicked grin across her face. "I know you and your children aren't of this world. Which means there are others for my master to control. So once we're done here, your world will be next" Both Lynn and Rita tried to reach out and grab Lily but the woman was too fast and easily stepped back. "Ah ah ah. You will have her back but I need her blood first." She raised a hand again and the golems picked up the cages and carried them away while Rita and Lynn thrashed about, trying to break free and save their child.
Character Lvl.
Lori lvl. 1
Leni lvl. 1
Luna lvl. 1
Luan lvl. 1
Lynn lvl. 2
Lucy lvl, 2
Lincoln lvl. 1
Lana lvl. 1
Lola lvl. 2
Lisa lvl. 1
I know this is a short beginning chapter but I'm still shaking off the writer's rust. Hopefully, I can get back in the flow of writing with longer/ detailed chapters. Until next time. People are holding their breath hoping you fail, make sure they suffocate
