Realms of Valeron

Realms of Valeron

Alison Cybe

Copyright © 2021 by Alison Cybe

Cover design copyright © 2021 by Story Perfect Dreamscape

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, business, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblances to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission from the publisher. However, brief quotations may be reproduced in the context of reviews.

Published December 2021 by Dreamsphere Books, an imprint of Story Perfect Inc.

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Player Stats

Roka

Elf / Cleric

STR 10, DEX 14, CON 9, INT 11, WIS 16, CHA 15

HP 15, AC 15, Initiative +2

Saves: Wis +2, Cha +5

Proficiencies: History +2, Insight +5, Persuasion +4, Perception +5, Religion +2

Darkvision – 30 ft

Fey Ancestry – Advantage on saves against charm, immune to magical sleep

Trance – Receive long rest benefit from 4 hours of meditation

Weapon Training – Proficiency with longbow, shortbow, longsword, shortsword

Disciple of Life – Healing spells of level 1 or higher restore additional 2+ spell level points

Channel Divinity – One use, restores on each short or long rest

Turn Undead – Wisdom save for all undead within 30 ft or be forced to flee on fail

Preserve Life – As action, restore 5x level HP split between any creatures within 30 ft

Prepare 6 Spells per day, during long rest.

Cantrips known: Dancing Lights, Guidance, Mending, Resistance

Enchanted Robe, Healing Staff (+4/1d6)

Gunnar

Dwarf / Warrior

STR 18, DEX 11, CON 16, INT 12, WIS 11, CHA 9

HP 31, AC 16, Initiative 0

Saves: Str +6, Con +5

Proficiencies: Athletics +6, History +3, Intimidation +1, Survival +2

Darkvision – 60 ft

Resilience – Advantage on saves against poison, resistance to poison damage

Armour Training – Proficiency with light and medium armour

Combat Training – Proficiency with battleaxe, handaxe, throwing hammer, warhammer

Tool Proficiency – Proficiency with brewer’s supplies

Stonecunning – Add double proficiency bonus for History checks on stonework

Fighting Style – Add Strength bonus to damage on off-hand weapon attacks

Second Wind – Bonus action to restore 1d10+ level HP, regain use on short or long rest

Action Surge – Use two actions on the same turn, regain use on short or long rest

Improved Critical – Score critical hits on a roll of 19 or 20

Chain Mail, Battleaxe x2 (+6 / 1d8+4)

Exra

Rabbitfolk / Fire Witch

STR 11, DEX 15, CON 10, INT 16, WIS 17, CHA 17

HP 14, AC 12, Initiative +4

Saves: Con +2, Cha +5

Proficiencies: Arcana +5, History +5, Insight +5, Perception +5, Persuasion +5

Hare Trigger – Add proficiency to initiative

Lucky Footwork – Add 1d4 to failed Dex Save result. Cannot use if prone or speed reduced to 0

Rabbit Hop – Bonus action, jump 5x proficiency bonus feet. Regain uses equal to proficiency bonus on long rest. Cannot use if speed reduced to 0

Favoured by the Gods – Add extra 2d4 on failed attack or save. Regain use on short or long rest.

Font of Magic – 3 Sorcery points, regained on long rest, can be exchanged for spell slots.

Careful Spell – Spend 1 Sorcery point, allies equal to Charisma modifier succeed on saves against your spell

Quickened Spell – Spend 2 Sorcery points to cast single action spell as a Bonus action

Spells known – Blade Ward, Fire Bolt, Minor Illusion, Prestidigitation, Bane, Burning Hands, Chromatic Orb, Jump, Scorching Ray

Leather Armor, Hefty Stick (+4/1d4)

Biggie

Rock Golem / Hunter

STR 14, DEX 15, CON 15, INT 8, WIS 13, CHA 11

HP 28, AC 14, Initiative +2

Saves: Str +4, Dex +4

Proficiencies: Animal Handling +3, Athletics +4, Nature +1, Perception +3, Survival +4

Natural Armour – When unarmoured, AC is equal to 12 + Constitution Bonus

Construct – Advantage on saves against poison, charm and fear, resistance to poison damage

Working Machine – Receive long rest benefits on 4 hours of motionless inactivity

Favoured Enemy – Advantage on Survival and Recall Information checks about one enemy type

Natural Explorer – Bonuses to long term travel through one terrain type

Archery - +2 bonus with ranged weapons

Beast Master – Animal companion (Big’ass Bear)

Spells Known – Animal Friendship, Hunter’s Mark, Speak with Animals

Musket (+4/1d12+2/40ft)

Aria

Catfolk / Assassin

STR 10, DEX 18, CON 12, INT 14, WIS 11, CHA 12

HP 21, AC 16, Initiative +4

Saves: Dex +6, Int +4

Proficiencies: Acrobatics +6, Athletics +2, Deception +3, Insight +2, Investigation +4, Perception +2, Sleight of Hand +8, Stealth +8

Darkvision – 60 ft

Feline Agility – Can double movement speed for one turn, spend turn moving 0 ft to regain use

Cat’s Claws – Climb speed 20 ft. Natural weapons deal 1d4+0 (S) damage

Sneak Attack – Extra 1d6 damage when rolling with advantage or against target within 5 ft of ally

Cunning Action – Dash, Disengage or Hide as bonus action

Assassinate – Advantage on any target yet to take a turn this combat. Hits on Surprised enemy count as critical hits.

Studded Leather Armor, Daggers x5 (+6/1d4+4)

Sycorax

Undead / Sorcerer

STR 11, DEX 12, CON 10, INT 18, WIS 12, CHA 13

HP 14, AC 11, Initiative +1

Saves: Int +6, Wis +3

Proficiencies: Arcana +6, Deception +3, Insight +3, Sleight of Hand +3

Undeath – Immunity to poison damage and poisoned condition

Persistent Existence – On dropping to 0 HP, restore 1 HP instead, regain use on long rest

Arcane Recovery – Once per day during short rest, recover spell slots of combined level equal to half character level

Grim Harvest – Once per turn, regain HP of twice spell’s level (three times level for Necromancy Spells) on killing living enemies

Spellbook – Chill Touch, Minor Illusion, Ray of Frost, Disguise Self, False Life, Identify, Illusory Script, Mage Armour, Ray of Sickness, Tenser’s Floating Disk, Unseen Servent, Crown of Madness, Ray of Enfeeblement

Sinister Robe, Deathshead Staff (+4/1d6)

Brakka

Human / Frost Knight

STR 16, DEX 11, CON 14, INT 12, WIS 10, CHA 13

HP 28, AC 16, Initiative 0

Saves: Str +5, Con +4

Proficiencies: Athletics +5, History +3, Intimidation +3, Persuasion +3

Second Wind – Bonus action to restore 1d10+ level HP, regain use on short or long rest

Action Surge – Use two actions on the same turn, regain use on short or long rest

Defence - +1 to AC from any armour worn

Battle Master – Gain four combat superiority dice (1d8), regained on short or long rest

Disarming Attack – spend superiority die, add roll to damage, force Strength save or disarm target

Menacing Attack – spend superiority die, add roll to damage, force Wisdom save against fear

Trip Attack – spend superiority die, add roll to damage, force Strength save and knock prone on fail

Frost Mail, Runic Blade (+5/1d10+3)

Chapter One

Don’t stand in the fire! screamed Roka.

The ground before the elf blazed with a vibrant, rainbow-like assortment of red and green flames. Roka tried not to think about why the flames may be green, much less why the ogre which had spat them across the ground might be able to do so in the first place.

Instead, Roka focused on leveling another emergency healing spell at the orc that was standing in the fire, ignorant to the flames that licked around him. The spell crackled against the orc’s plate armor, and barely made a dent in the warrior’s rapidly plummeting health bar.

Roka didn’t even want to look at his own mana. The orc was swinging away frantically, hammering against the ogre with an old battle-axe, but Roka had the horrible feeling that it was all for naught. By the time the ogre’s health would be at zero, the orc would be dead.

Sighing, Roka let fly another glistening, golden-colored healing blast and repeated his previous command. Get out of the fire!

Again, he received no reply from the orc. Instead, the reptile tilted his head back, releasing a resounding and bloodthirsty cry, bellowing with all the feral power that he had in his possession. Roka placed a palm against his face. He hadn’t been playing the game long, but he didn’t think that the orc was going to move out of the fire any time soon. To his left, Roka noticed the orc’s friends—one of them, a short, stocky little goblin—snap his fingers together in a sharp staccato rhythm. Shards of crystal-like ice leaped from the small wizard’s paws towards the ogre as another colleague, a cat wrapped in dark fabrics, drove his sharp dagger-like blades into the ogre’s back again and again, each one chipping very slightly away at the monster’s thick hide. Roka hoped that it would be enough.

Just as the ogre hit its next attack—a rather weak spinning attack which missed Roka entirely—the orc died. Roka watched him stumble and teeter for a moment before he landed on the ground, his body surrounded by the ogre’s fire which lingered for another few seconds before finally extinguishing.

Roka felt a rush of fear. The rest of the party didn’t stand a chance.

Within the next ten seconds, the ogre had carved its way through the orc’s three colleagues. It knocked the thief to one side with barely a thought, and then proceeded to smash its massive wooden club down onto the third member of the party, some exotic kind of archer that Roka didn’t yet recognize. In desperation, the wizard had tried to run. That had been futile; Roka should have guessed that he wouldn’t get far, and the ogre took him down with a single hit. Then the ogre turned its eyes on Roka, who was already halfway down the corridor.

Words soon appeared above Roka’s head, blazing slightly to the right of his ear. From the corner of his eyes, he read them.

Stupid cleric, they read, where were my heals?

You were standing in the fire! replied Roka. He was scrambling frantically through the dungeon, his elf ears swaying and listening for the thundering echo of the ogre’s feet pounding through the tunnel behind him.

He felt a pang of annoyance. He had come so close, if only they had been able to kill the ogre, he’d have had the chance to grab a new robe, one with a higher intelligence stat. Personally, he would have been happy to just get the experience, which was enough to hit fourth level. Although, the more he thought on it, a new robe would be nice. His own were aptly dubbed as the ‘initiate’s starter robe’, a hideous mismatching of dung-like shades of brown that made Roka eager to find anything else.

He wondered if he had enough gold to buy a new robe yet. He thought that a blue one would suit him. Yes, definitely blue. Or maybe red, red suited elves like Roka.

He shook his head, remembering that there was an ogre trying to smash his head in.

I’ll worry about the color later, he thought.

The ogre clambered up the tunnel behind him, and not for the first time Roka wished that he had a stronger attack spell that he could use. He quickly glanced at his map, noting that just a few more turns and he’d be at the start of the dungeon again. The ogre would have to stop chasing him then, wouldn’t it?

As Roka ran frantically, his terribly unfashionable brown robe billowing behind him, the words You’re a crap healer appeared once more above his head. Grumbling something about the orc being stupider than dirt, Roka pulled a sharp left. The dungeon was a small one, but of course it certainly seemed large to Roka. It was filled with rocks set in hard spikes and populated by spiders who spat venom at anyone who came within their respective spheres of attention, not to mention being populated by the ogre.

The ogre, who Roka had been sent to kill on the request of a soldier (who evidently had nothing better to do than delegate the more dangerous jobs to the less experienced adventurers) lived quite contently in peace with the array of arachnids, until Roka and his companions had come along. First, they had killed the spiders, then they had plucked the gold coins from wherever spiders stored gold coins on their bodies, leaving their corpses scattered across the dungeon floor. It was these same corpses that Roka now sprinted between, with the ogre lumbering behind him with all the subtlety of a twelve-wheeled truck careening through a shopping center.

Roka hadn’t expected to have an experience like this on his first day in the game. Realms of Valeron was the hottest MMORPG on the market, in no small part to its promise of a vigorous, friendly base of players. The game had hit shelves eight months earlier to massive critical acclaim; sales skyrocketed, easily dwarfing every rival game on the market. News reports spread across the world, describing the game’s success as a cultural phenomenon. It didn’t require a high-end, state of the art operating system to run on, making it accessible to gamers who might otherwise have been priced out due to the needs of upgrading their PCs in order to run such a visually stunning game.

It was those same visuals, in part, that had attracted Roka to the game in the first place. He had yearned for a world like this, one that was bright and vibrant, populated with anthropomorphic creatures and seemed truly magical. When he played games with his friends, he’d found himself quickly growing bored of endlessly trudging through battered, war-torn cities that were forever etched in washes of brown and gray, plastered with scorched craters in various shades of ash. He wanted color and he wanted variety, but he hadn’t wanted the stigma of playing a ‘furry fantasy game’. That would have made him a nerd among nerds, someone who even his gamer friends would have thought twice about inviting to their occasional parties.

Then the expansion pack was announced, boasting a plethora of new content. New lands to explore, new monsters to fight, more spells to master and special loot to find. More than that, it was free: a full-sized expansion pack, released absolutely free of charge to people who had already bought the original game, promising to almost double the size of the already massive online world. Best of all, though, was the secret dungeons, hidden away by the developers and just waiting for enterprising players to explore and uncover all for themselves. The expansion boosted the sales of the game threefold, quickly sky-rocketing the players from three million to a phenomenal ten million.

Roka hadn’t had to think twice about buying the game, but he did wonder about its technical specs and whether his computer would be up to handling it. The cashier quickly put his mind to rest, explaining that the game could easily run on even a low-end system like Roka’s. The cashier, a tall man with an unkempt beard whose name tag proudly proclaimed his name as Rusty, had told him that if he played on the same server, he would happily send him a few in-game items to get him started. Sadly, Roka had completely forgotten the name of the server that Rusty played on in his eagerness to create a character. After playing around with the character creation screen for almost half an hour, he eventually settled on his first character—an elven cleric, skilled in the arts of healing and slaying the undead through divine prayers.

Back in the present, Roka thought that a few of those divine prayers would be extremely useful right about now as the ogre’s club just missed his head and became buried in the wall a fraction of an inch away. The first of them, though, was a skill aptly called ‘divine smite’, and was not unlocked until his next level. Until then, he was left with a handful of healing spells, a rusty mace (appropriately described in the game’s item description as ‘rusty mace’) and a mismatched brown robe. Those three items were worth next to nothing against the rampaging ogre that was bellowing after him, ready to crush him into a fine paste beneath its thundering heels.

The elf cleric tore at full speed into the final corridor, and in the distance caught sight of the distant glimmering light of the cavern’s entrance. It looks so far away, he thought. He ran, hurtling forward for dear life.

The words Learn to play, noob appeared above Roka, and the priest almost swore.

That stupid orc, thought the elf. Inhaling, Roka fired back a reply. It’s your own fault for standing in the fire! The healers can’t save you from that much damage, you need to move out of it.

Loser! came the reply.

Roka gave an annoyed sigh. Of course the game had people like that in it. Even though it advertised itself as having a friendly group of players, it was just a matter of fact that every online game had players like the orc. Roka closed his eyes, took a deep sigh, and tried to think of his reply. He wanted it to be witty, something genuinely funny, and something that would put the orc in his place and—the last thing that Roka saw was the ogre’s large wooden club colliding with his head.

• • •

Roka inhaled. He hadn’t died in the game before. After all, he had only been playing it for a few hours. This dungeon had been his first—his first time exploring a dangerous part of the world, his first time venturing underground. It had also been his first time joining a group of other players, moving away from the safety of battling ‘naughty squirrels’ in a field and collecting apples for a farmer, or delivering letters for a tired town guard. Dying, like everything else in the game, was a new adventure for him. He held his breath, waiting to see what would happen next.

The dungeon faded, turning into a haze-filled, washed-out replica of its former self. Roka looked down, seeing himself as a translucent shadow. He tried to move forward and found that he slid easily over the ground.

Beside him, a short little creature sat on the ground. It was short, white, and round. It had a protruding stomach which reminded Roka of images of the Buddha he had seen in textbooks. Unlike the Buddha, though, it had large elf-like ears and the matching tail, its tip coming to a white point.

Hello, said the figure. You appear to be dead. Would you like a hand with that?

Roka paused for a moment, and thought. Finally, he answered. Yes.

I can resurrect you, said the figure, for five gold pieces.

Roka glanced at his backpack. Tucked safely into it, having survived both the ogre’s wild rampage and the cleric’s passage into the lands of death, were three gold pieces. His backpack also contained several other items such as ‘spider leg’, ‘small rock’, ‘piece of torn paper’ and ‘old cheese’. Roka put the old cheese back into his backpack. I don’t have that much, he explained.

The Buddha-fox smiled. If you do not have the funds, you can make use of a free resurrection service at your local chapel.

Roka glanced around. Despite the haze-filled and blue-tinted nature of his environment, he was still definitely in the cave. There certainly didn’t appear to be a chapel anywhere nearby. Hesitantly, he asked Where is the nearest chapel?

The figure bounced, flopping up and down on the ground. Your nearest chapel is at Homestead Farm. Let me mark it on your map for you!

Roka groaned. Homestead Farm was the first area he had found. It had been pleasant enough, a tranquil and utterly peaceful land, with only the occasional ‘naughty squirrel’ or ‘lost puppy’ to interrupt the player’s lessons in how to move their characters around the world map and progress their way up to Level Two. Roka had only been playing the game for several hours, but had already traveled quite a distance. The thought of trudging all the way back to his starting zone made him groan.

The small creature moved his chubby forearms, and a bright, friendly-looking blue arrow materialized in front of Roka. Right this way! said the creature.

Chapter Two

It took Roka about fifteen minutes to trek back to the farm. Rushing through the blue wavering haze of the afterlife, he looked around and saw the village bathed in a different light. He followed the friendly blue arrow towards the chapel until he was, for a moment, unsure if he had found the correct destination. He had expected to find a tall brick structure, bathed in holy light. Instead, he found a small shack with an apothecary’s sigil painted in blue on the outside wall. Peering in, he sighed.

Hello, said the Buddha-fox. You appear to be dead. Would you like a hand with that?

The elf wondered if this was the same Buddha-fox, or if it was just a distant relation to the previous one. Yes, he answered eagerly.

With a wave of its hands, the Buddha-fox bathed Roka in a fiery golden light. Roka looked up, eyes widening as the blue haze that had seemed to saturate the world faded, giving way to the vibrant colors of the farm once more. He looked up at his health bar and was amazed to see that it was fully restored.

With a quick tug, the cleric pulled a small booklet from his backpack, his guide to the game’s universe. His booklet expanded before him, opening into a large menu that filled most of Roka’s view. Within a few moments, he had searched through its pages, until he had located the details he was seeking.

Dying, said the book is not the end of your adventure. When your character’s health reaches zero, they pass into the realm of the dead. Fear not, eager adventurers, for the realm of the dead is watched over by the Pikoli, a race of magical healers who will aid you in your return to the mortal world. An image appeared, displaying a familiar and friendly-looking Buddha-fox. The Pikoli will offer to resurrect you, but their services come at a price. Be warned, though, that your journey into the lands of the dead will have an effect on the durability of your armor and weapons… Roka closed the book, growing a little bored. The page had continued, and he didn’t want to spend his time reading. He was eager to return to his adventuring. Turning, Roka hurried into the village.

The priest came to a halt outside the tavern. Even though Homestead Farm was the starting area, and generally safe from any major enemy attacks, it still boasted a decent-sized local tavern. Somehow, Roka felt drawn to it, as did many players, perhaps due to its placement near the heart of the village. Or perhaps, Roka thought, the developers simply knew that any fantasy village needed a tavern by law of genre trope.

Resting for a moment, Roka quickly glanced over his possessions, checking that everything had made it back intact from his inexplicable trip into the land of the dead. Relieved that his collection of rocks, scraps of paper and foul cheese was unharmed, the cleric glanced at his experience points. He felt a sinking feeling. The numbers looked depressingly low. He still had a long, long way to go before he would reach fifth level.

It’s no use, said a nearby voice, we’re just not strong enough.

The elf turned in the direction of the speaker, peering into the tavern. It was lively inside, populated by non-player characters who busied themselves in a continual, never-ending cycle of pouring pints of ale and sweeping the already clean floor. In one corner, Sven the farmhand sat, asking any nearby adventurers who approached him to find his lost sheep while a feline bartender polished the same sale stein over and over in a hypnotic, repetitive motion.

Beside the bar, Roka noticed two other players, just like himself and most definitely real.

It’s not just a regular monster, said the first figure. He was short, stocky, thickly built. Roka guessed, from the figure’s thickly built stature, stubby horns and bushy red beard that had been pulled into thick braids that he was a dwarf. It’s a vampire!

The other figure was slightly taller, due to tips of her rabbit-like ears bringing her skinny form up to almost chest-height with the feline bartender. A short puff-like tail flicked animatedly behind her. The cleric was certain that he had seen her species before, listed back on the character creation screen. He had played with it for a while, considering if it would suit him as an avatar, but had ultimately decided against it. For the life of him, Roka couldn’t remember what they were called.

The chance of the vampire using his ‘Blood Drain’ ability is only thirty per cent, said the rabbit woman, but jumps to sixty per cent when he’s down to half his hit points. It then increases to eighty per cent at a quarter health points remaining. The odds are definitely against us.

Roka dared a closer glance. The two adventurers were heavily in mid conversation. He stepped a little bit closer, his curiosity starting to urge him onwards.

Could I use a healing potion to get through it? asked the dwarf, not noticing the elf. Roka looked for the dwarf’s name. In the game, the character’s names hung in bright, warm green colored text above the character’s heads, signifying the person’s identity to all who wished to know. The dwarf, as a player, was no different. His name was Gunnar.

There was a short delay, and then the rabbit-eared woman replied, Not anymore. Roka took a glance above her head as well, finding her name to be Exra. In the beta test of the game, you could drink healing potions during a combat, but they removed that in the final release. The developers said that it made the fights unbalanced.

Another player, a badger, hurried into the tavern. Completely ignoring Roka, the dwarf and the rabbit-woman, he hurried towards the bar. The bartender quickly pleaded with the badger to help him quell a swarm of rats that had invaded the basement of the building. Roka had already completed this quest, slaying ten large rats, only for them to reappear a few minutes later for another player to take their turn. The badger, without a word, hurried away towards the basement to slay his quota of the infinitely reappearing rats, sword in hand.

Only one thing for it then, said the dwarf. We need a healer.

Roka looked up. A healer? He was a healer. In fact, the cleric class was supposedly the best healer in the game. The impulse to speak rose up inside him. healerhealerclerichealer.

But then, he thought about the orc. Crap healer, he’d said. Learn to play. Truth was that the elf really had no idea how to play the game. When he had installed it, he had thumbed through the instruction manual, skimming through the play guide. It had outlined the first five levels of playing a cleric,