Ice Magean

By WE Kelton

Adeline was accustomed to not quite knowing what was going on around her. Twenty years living in nations whose languages were everything other than English, ensured that.
However, she was not accustomed to hallucinations – especially ones that included her waking up outside Nightelm Garrison. The garrison was the beginning training grounds for game characters of human and dwarven stock in the online roll playing game, Tales of Lyria.
In the game realm of Lyria, cities are filled with all manner of races, class trainers and adventure. To a woman who spent her life teaching English to students of other languages, the game is a way to connect to the world around her. Lyria was a place of magic, danger and opportunity at every character level.

Waking up in a live action version of the game had never crossed her mind. Despite her disbelief at what her eyes saw and her ears heard, she was forced to accept that she had managed a way to make her life even more unpredictable. After all being a mimetic sorceress named Adeline Murphy couldn’t be as bad an omen as it sounded right?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pandora's Press
• Release date: Nov 30, 2011
• ISBN: 9781937916053

WE Kelton

You would think a person with an advanced degree in a science discipline would have more sense than to be a fiction writer. Alas, I apparently skipped that session of course work and ran full bore at the Science Fiction and Fantasy wall. If you heard a teeth rattling sound a while back, pay it no mind - it was just me trying to knock sense back into my own head. Apparently all it did was knock a couple more story lines loose. Go figure.

Book preview

Chapter 1 – Nightelm Garrison

Adeline stared at the Tales of Lyria login screen for her computer for three minutes. She had early classes tomorrow. If she played the online roll playing game, she wouldn’t get to sleep before three or four, and her classes started at 7:45 tomorrow morning. Before she could change her mind, she logged onto the role playing game server.

Before she had a chance to pick one of her characters, she heard the sound of an electrical pop outside her window. With her fingers on the keys of her computer she glanced out the second floor window in time to see the neighborhood go dark. Her heart beat quickly for a moment as she heard the transformer outside of her apartment blow. She felt a tingling sensation in her fingers. Before she could reach down and switch off the CPU, the electrical surge blacked out her apartment and everything went dark.

Adeline shivered as she slowly started to return to consciousness. The first thing she noticed was the dappled sunlight coming in through her ceiling. She thought, "That can’t be right. The storm wasn’t strong enough to destroy a Harbin apartment building, they were built to sustain the frozen temperatures of brutally cold winters.

She shook her head, to try and clear her vision. Which changed nothing; the trees and the sunlight remained. She pushed herself up to a seated position and blushed to the tips of her toes as she brought her knees up to her chest. ‘What the devil is going on? Why am I hanging out under trees in my underwear?’ she asked herself. Wrapping her arms around her legs she noticed a couple other things. The first was her skin looked odd, younger somehow and her breasts were perkier than she remembered them being. Second, there were four other people around her similarly unclothed.

What the hell! she exclaimed as she saw a yeoman standing before a pair of open, two story, wood and iron gates. He was staring at her just as intently as she was staring at him. She glanced around again. Yep, still five nearly naked people, she said to herself. She looked back at the yeoman and focused on the buildings behind him. There is no way in hell that I’m seeing this, she announced as she closed her eyes. I fell, I hit my head, that’s all, she mumbled to herself as she closed her eyes and looked away.

Oh yes! called out from a voice beside her. She glanced up in time to see one of the underwear clad men jump up and run toward the yeoman and the buildings that looked like the Nightelm Marshall Field. The Tales of Lyria training ground for all beginning human and dwarven characters no matter which class.

Nightelm Garrison? a feminine voice asked. That rocks! she yelled as she also raced toward the yeoman.

You don’t have cloths on! Adeline yelled at the figure sprinting for the garrison.

What do you think that means? asked the male to her left as he sat up near her.

That I’ve gone completely insane, Adeline replied as she watched the pair enter the garrison and run in opposite directions.

I think it means, we haven’t chosen our characters, replied a soft feminine voice from her right.

Adeline finally shifted her attention to the other two semi-naked people, You are from Earth right? I mean, I know that normal is not exactly the right skin tone for me. But you are from Earth aren’t you? She glanced to the black haired man to her left and her eyes opened wide as she felt her hormones sit up and take notice. He had bright blue eyes, long black hair and muscles that ran all the way down into his boxers. She flushed beet red and closed her eyes. How old are you? she asked in a panicked voice, In earth years.

Sixteen, the man replied.

Oh just kill me now, she sighed into her hands. She looked to the woman on her right. She had short blond hair, bright green eyes and just looked ‘innocent’, You?

Twenty-two, the woman replied.

Oh boy, she sighed.

You? the girl asked.

Older, much older, Adeline snorted into her hands. Is there any way this is just a dream, a really funky, torturous dream?

They both shrugged.

She sighed before she asked, How high did you two get?

Level 50 Night Goblin Sorceress, the woman replied.

Level 50 Forest Orc Hunter, the man replied.

Crap, Adeline sighed.

You? the woman asked.

Level 29, human wizard, she replied, pointedly ignoring the dual looks of surprise.

That’s it? the man asked.

I had indecision disorder! she snapped.

He blinked at her.

I couldn’t decide on a race or a class, so I tried a few on. Then I had to go figure out who had the best mounts, so that required quite a few characters to level 16 didn’t it, she growled.

How many ‘toons? the man asked.

One of each race and class to at least level twenty before I abandoned them or deleted them, she replied with yet another sigh.

The woman snickered.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, Adeline groaned, Yuck it up, I’m not the world’s best gamer. That I know.

We are going to have to go decide what class, the man said as he stood.

Adeline blushed once more as she mumbled, ‘Stupid hormones’. Her hand tingled where the boy/man had touched her as he helped her to her feet.

Names, the woman said, We should have names.

Well I doubt you’re gonna get the ‘that name is taken’ prompt, Adeline snapped, causing both the others to laugh. They approached the non-player character known as Yeoman Ferguson and waited for him to give the usual spiel.

I see you have finally decided to take your destiny into your own hands and have come to train at the Marshall Field of Nightelm Garrison. Ferguson smirked at them as he leered at the two barely covered women. Step forward as I call your name. Recruit Garth Jester. He handed the young man a seal as he said, Baldwin is waiting for you inside the Temple of Gar’ren, to begin your training. He will be able to provide you with a few necessities.

Garth accepted the seal, passed through the gates and jogged toward the temple of the sun god, father of all the other gods of Lyria, Gar’ren.

Yvonne Bowyer, Ferguson said as he looked between the two barely clad women.

I am Yvonne, the blond woman said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Ferguson smirked as he glanced up and down her toned body, Yes you are aren’t you. With a figure like yours there’s no doubt that the rogues’ guild will put you to work as soon as you’re trained. He handed her a seal and watched as she rounded out of sight in search of her trainer.

He grinned at the black haired woman’s tight lipped, narrowed eyed stare as he said, That makes you recruit Adeline Murphy. He tapped the seal on his free hand as he said, The higher ups had quite the time trying to place you. He looked her over and said as he leered, Too bad we don’t have a courtesan trainer, he mocked her.

Adeline moved up closer as she batted her eyes at him, It’s true, she purred as she ran her hands over his plate mail. If we did, she continued to purr closer to his ear. In a flash she bent her body and used it as a fulcrum to toss him to the ground, I’d charge you ten times the going rate, she stalked toward the Marshall Keep seal in hand.

Once inside the Keep she looked around. She spotted the first pair; they were speaking with their trainers. One was standing before a scarred and frightening looking man and the other was standing beside a woman in priest robes. She was just about to pass through to the next set of trainers when she heard her name bellowed, Recruit Murphy!

Adeline didn’t want to look up.

Recruit Murphy! her name was bellowed once more, causing the others to stare at her.

Her shoulders slumped as she mumbled to herself, It had to be sorceress. Of all the classes available it had to be the one that I’m the worst at. She glanced at the green robe of the man glaring down at her. A sorceress named Murphy, she said as she continued to stare at the trainer, Because there’s no way that can go wrong.

*

Garth was sitting with Yvonne under the shade of the trees where they’d first woken up. He was eating and drinking as they waited for Adeline, Think that’s her real name? he asked.

Yvonne giggled as she replied, No, just as mine is not Yvonne and I do not think that Garth is yours.

Garth tossed a grin at the pretty blond woman across from him.

Here she comes, Yvonne said as they watched the sorceress leave the confines of the Marshall Field after being dismissed by Marshall Jackson. She does not look pleased, she commented.

When does she ever? Garth replied as he grinned at his new friend. They both withheld their laughter as the sorceress paused before she tossed a fire ball over her shoulder at Yeoman Ferguson. It didn’t hit him, but it came close enough for him to have to move his feet quickly and caused him to lose his balance.

Adeline grinned as she heard the telltale sound of her name being cursed as the sound of plate mail crashing to the ground swept over her. When she was close enough to Garth and Yvonne she asked, Is it wrong that, that never ceases to amuse me?

Garth just shook his head, while Yvonne giggled again.

You two about done? I want a bed. A real bed, not that cot thing we’ve been sleeping on for the past three months and a drink and real food, she sighed.

What do you need real food for? Yvonne asked as she rose fluidly up to her feet. You can conjure food and water.

Have you tried conjured food? The fruit tastes green and the water has a metallic tang to it, sure it’ll do in a pinch but really? she asked, Not my first choice.

You can have my apples, Garth grinned at her, Got dozens after I helped the cider maker.

Thank you, no. I think the first thing I’m going to do is order an extravagant meal when we get to the village ‘cause this jerky thing, is not working for me, she sighed.

Garth repacked his pack and stretched all his muscles.

Do we want to go south to Sweetplum Village or head north? Yvonne asked.

I don’t have enough money for the ferry, Garth sighed. I want to get to Clifftown to learn a craft as soon as I can. His face became contemplative before he asked, We are going to stick together aren’t we?

Adeline smiled at the man. At least after the past three months acquaintance she could now not feel like she wanted to jump him when she touched him. It was easier when he spoke, he often sounded like a sixteen year old. Of course, maybe if we’re stuck in this dream we’ll even start a guild call it Earthlings of Lyria, maybe even recruit the Kahn.

Yvonne glanced around. Don’t even say that, she hissed. My trainer told me that the Monarchy is not pleased with the tolerance shown to Kahn by any of its allies or its factions.

Adeline’s eyes narrowed, Seriously, I am really not a person that goes…oh look, Kahn, kill, kill, kill.

Yvonne flinched, Please Adeline, just don’t talk about it. OK? It’s just a bad time for sympathizers.

I am not a sympathizer, Adeline growled through clenched teeth, I just think it’s ridiculous.

Garth stepped between the two women and said, We should go, it’ll probably be dark by the time we get to Sweetplum Village.

Chapter 2 – River Road

I hate running, yes I do, sang Adeline, I hate running, how about you?

Not as much as your singing, Garth called out as he passed her.

Adeline chuckled as she continued to run from the garrison and the stone walls of the Marshall Field. Her soft soled boots made no noise as she ran over the hard packed earthen road. The three of them left a trail of dark brown dust to settle back down on the road or blow into the timber trees around them. When the three joggers passed the tree line, the large timber trees, became marsh scrub and tall grasses. Adeline stopped suddenly and said, Oh crap.

What now? Yvonne growled.

I wanted to buy a belt of stamina from the outfitter, Adeline replied as she looked behind them. You two go on, I’ll catch up.

Yvonne shrugged and resumed jogging down the earthen road, toward the village closest to the Marshall Field, Sweetplum.

It’s ok Garth, Adeline smiled at the boy she’d become friends with over the past three months. I’m not going to fight any Yammurta Raiders. Killing river pirates is the last thing I need to be doing. I’m barely strong enough to catch dry grass on fire. There’s no way I’m stupid enough to leave a trail of dead bodies between the Marshall Field and the village. She paused before she said, Damn it! Is the camp with outfitting trainer in the valley nearer Pinedale, north of the Marshall Field? She glanced down the road in front of her as she asked, Or is it nearer the river?

Garth shrugged.

I won’t go far, I promise. I’ll run if it looks like I’m going to be facing anything more difficult than bobcats or coyotes ok? she said as she smiled at him.

Garth nodded before he said, Be quick, who knows how many rooms are left at the Redplum Inn.

Then run fast and get us one, she growled at him as she turned and started back toward the Marshall Field.

*

Adeline slung her staff across her back, lifted her robe and ran directly for River Road. She was thankful that she had good map memory from all her time playing low level characters. Not that she’d remembered where the outfitter’s camp was. She’d found the currier’s camp. As easy as it was to create leather goods while playing the game, it was not something she was interested in pursuing in this live action version.

She burst through the tall marsh grass and onto River Road. She headed south along the road that traversed the western border of Greenvale, heading toward the village of Sweetplum. The road ran north from the southernmost tip of the Faoin Muir River, from the village of Riverport on this side of the river and the falls of Clifftown on the opposite side of the river. The road paralleled the river as it flowed northward. The freshwater Faoin Muir merged into the waters of the Dorcha Sea. It arched to the east until the brackish waters of the delta turned fresh where it merged with the waters of the Selah and Agogos rivers.

The Selah River flowed south from the Sariin Duu Mountains, forming the border between Aurora, the wild lands of the northern Kahn tribes, and Deep Woods, home of the Forest Orc. The water of the Agogos River flowed from Lake Menthu in Eremes toward the Dorcha Sea to the west. Eremes, the desert land of the Tribesmen, was located to the east of the verdant lands of Greenvale. The two lands had once been joined but Eremes was separated from Greenvale during the time of upheaval between the Gods.

The god of dark magic, Loki, fought with Frey, the First Son and god of all growing things. He severed his lands from Frey’s. The split formed a cliff range that spanned from the barren wastes of the Tundra, in the Northern Steppes, to the Southern Wilds. The cliffs were known as Loki’s Scar. There were only two parts of Loki’s scar that was traversable. The first was where the Agogos River flowed from the mouth of Lake Menthu. The second was far to the south. It was the easternmost border of the Eastern Plains, where the rolling grassland stopped and the desert of Eremes began, the border was named Loki’s steps. The scar was an obsidian stone wall that ranged in height from seven hundred to twelve hundred feet above the sands of Eremes.

In the myth, Frey asked Sigorn, the builder, to smooth out the rent edges of Greenvale. Sigorn created the Darkspine Mountains upon the length of Loki’s scar that severed the grass lands of the Eastern Plains from Eremes. After the Darkspine burst forth into the land, he smoothed out the stone of the rent earth and filled the canal with snow melt from the newly created mountain range. He raised the mountains of the Darkspine to the height of the Crystalspine; a towering range of mountains that separated the eastern plains from the rolling hills and vales of Greenhill to the north, and the lakes of Springvale to the west.

Adeline tripped over a stone in the road and landed hard on her hands and knees. The jolt of pain brought her mind back to her current situation and away from reviewing the creation myths of Lyria. She could hear the Yammurta raiders crashing through the low brush and the tall grasses to her right. Yammurta was the name given to all river people. Most were nomadic and not pirates. They traveled the waters ways of Lyria on boats known as Dyeebah, a type of houseboat river barge.

The most easily identifiable subset of the river people were the raiders. They wore a single braid behind their left ear and a bone bead carved with the insignia of their faction. They were fast, deadly and never any one race which is what made them so dangerous. She picked herself up off the road and forced her tiring body to continue to run. She almost fell again as an arrow pierced her shoulder.

She didn’t know if the others had figured it out yet but once you died, that was it you were dead. The only reason she’d figured it out was by watching the river pirates. One of the training tasks of the Marshall Field had been to go to the river and collect twelve of their sashes and one of the oars from a flyak. Flyak’s were a high speed kayak, used by the Yammurta as raiding vessels. She’d followed Garth and Yvonne as well as two other recruits to a large camp of the river raiders.

Garth and Yvonne managed to kill enough of the raiders to collect their sashes before one of the new recruits took a sword cut to the stomach. She and recruit Bevin tried to rescue the injured recruit but he died in the camp. Bevin, a training warrior, had taken one look at the dead body of their third and continued on with his task. She’d set fire to five flyaks and froze three of the raiders in the river, drowning them. The other’s swam to safety and were able to hide until she set the marsh grass on fire.

She hadn’t managed to complete her task, but she now knew what charred flesh smelled like and what the screams of the living as they burned to death sounded like. That had not been a good time for her. She woke up three days later in the stocks of the garrison after having made a drunken nuisance of herself and caused five fights. The reality of the recruit’s death had hit her hard. It was the reason why it had taken her so long to reach the game’s level two equivalent. She was determined to survive this world.

She’d been lucky there was a priest trainer at the garrison. She’d needed healing more times than she really wanted to think about. If it hadn’t been for the priest, she’d have lost a leg during the beginning of her training. The massive jaws of a river Nothosaur, a long necked river crocodile, had almost taken her leg off at the hip. She’d managed to escape because she froze its mouth open, and fired as many small fire balls into its gapping maw as she could. The animal burned from the inside out. The stench of it brought guards who found her and returned her to the Marshall Field.

Adeline couldn’t hear the tread of the pirate’s bare feet, but she didn’t believe she’d outdistanced them. All she was hoping for was to get to the nearest village and let the guards handle them. As she rounded a blind curve she slammed into a large muscular body. The impact knocked her on her ass. She cried out as the jarring landing moved the arrow still lodged in her shoulder. It took a moment for her eyes to try and focus on what she had just run into.

The canopy filtered moonlight on this stretch of road illuminated little. She stared into the blackness hoping for a clue. She heard a horse snort and the sound of its tack jingled as it tossed its head. It took her a moment longer than it should have for her to understand what she’d blindly run into. She scrambled to her knees and muttered, Nice horsey, as she crawled under the horse’s belly, between its front and rear legs. Once she was clear, she scrambled to her feet and continued to run away down the dark road.

The rider looked for the something that had run into his warhorse on the right. His head pivoted when he heard footsteps on his left. Surprised he watched a woman in sorcerer’s robes run toward Sweetplum, with an arrow sticking out of her shoulder. Stop! he called out. When she didn’t he swore, Loki take you! and spurred his horse into motion. He was just about to catch her, when he fell from his horse and it ran away.

As soon as Adeline heard hoof beats, she started to gather her energy. The moment she could feel the horse’s breath on her back she side stepped and turned the rider into a raccoon. Taking a moment to catch her breath she turned to look toward Sweetplum, only to retreat two steps. The village was on fire. Garth, Yvonne, she whispered into the dark. She moved off the road and started to slowly pick her way towards the burning buildings.

She arrived at the same time as a contingent of Nightelm guards. They immediately started battling the Yammurta raiding party. A raider swung himself up into the trees nearest the guards and start firing arrows into them. After the fifth arrow felled a guard, she hurled as large a fire ball as she could create at the raider. She doubted it would even fly near enough to singe his hair. Her large fireballs were not powerful enough for long distances. But if she was lucky it would set the tree on fire or at least give the guards a warning that there was someone hiding in the tree.

A moment after the magic pulsed away from her, her mouth was covered and soft words were hissed in her ear, Do not make yourself a target. She was lifted up and carried away. The man carrying her moved deeper into the woods behind the burning inn. She had no idea if her rescuer had felt the arrow in her shoulder. She certainly did and passed out as the pain reached an intolerable level.

*

Adeline blinked as she felt sunlight on her face. Not again, she groaned as her eyes blinked open to see dappled sunlight through leaves. She moved her hands over her body and said, At least my clothes are on this time.

Irian was mid swallow when he heard the lowly spoken words, his eyes widened as he glanced at his companion.

Rikk grinned as he replied, That happen often to ye lass? And could ye let a fellow know where he’s to be to see that?

Adeline groaned as she moved her head toward the voice and opened her eyes, yup an elf sat there. He had brilliant blue eyes, pale almost blue tinted white skin, through his intricately braided, dark blond hair, peeked the curved tips of his ears and he had strait white teeth; teeth that were grinning at her through a neatly trimmed blond beard and mustache. Sorry, rarely get any warning, she replied as she tried to sit up.

Don’t move, came a soft masculine voice from her other side, Even with healing, the wound is barely closed.

Adeline growled and slammed the hand of her uninjured shoulder into the dirt, Of course it’s not.

Lass that’s a bit rude of you, the elf hissed with narrowed eyes.

Adeline winced as she heard the elf. She wasn’t blaming the priest; she was just tired of being used as target practice. She glanced at the young priest, Thank you for what you’ve done, she tried to smile. Son-of-a-mangy-boarhound! she roared as she sat up. Her vision blurred for a moment as the pain in her shoulder ripped through her. When it settled to a dull throbbing ache, she sighed, Better. As I was saying, thank you for the healing. I’m just grouchy because a stupid errand kept me from traveling to Sweetplum with my friends. Now, I’m here, wounded…yet a freakin’ again, and they are alone.

She noted the tears in the young priests eyes, Oh crap, she sighed, You arrived for training at the garrison with us didn’t you? She glanced around. Behind the Frost Elf there was a very large blond bear and next to him was a human man. A very virile human man, tan skin, light brown hair, muscles in all the right places and a short strawberry blond beard and mustache trimmed close to his face, just like the elf’s. The man was staring at her in surprise and she blushed when she saw the laughter her lazy perusal of him incited.

She returned her attention to the young priest, Your friend, the woman who was training to be a fighter, she died didn’t she? Adeline asked as kindly as she could.

The priest nodded.

Adeline reached out with her good arm and pulled him into her. He landed with his head in her lap as the tears leaked from his eyes. I’m so sorry, she said to him as she pet his hair and let him cry. She had no idea how old the seemingly young man was, but from his reaction she guessed somewhere in his early teens.

We completed our training before you, Peter said softly from the woman’s lap. I’ve been in Sweetplum for a moon on my own. He said as his body shook. Wendy, she, he paused for a moment, She died on the way to the village, we were fishing and a Nothosaur pulled her into the water. He glanced up at the black haired woman and asked, Is that why you took so long to finish your training?

Yes, she replied as her head dropped. Her head bounced back up as pain washed through her. She continued to caress the man’s head as he wept quietly in her lap. When he was just about asleep, she sneezed, loudly and very painfully. Ouch! she roared at no one. She sneezed again, and when the third one came a large finger and thumb pinched her nose. Adeline followed the tan and scarred hand to a wrist and all the way back to the brown haired man. Who was clearly amused, if the lift of his eyebrow and the grin on his face was an indication.

Dank you, she said, before she started snorting with laughter. Ough! Hurds, she moaned. You can release my nose now, she sighed at him. He did and she promptly sneezed once more. Ouch, she said distractedly.

Adeline! called out a familiar voice.

Yvonne? Adeline called back, Is Garth with you?

Yes, he’s injured and I can’t move him by myself, she replied.

Adeline glanced at the large human man and asked, Would you?

Irian stared into the ice blue eyes of the woman across from him and cursed himself as an idiot. It was always the blue-eyed ones that caused him the most trouble. He moved gracefully to his feet and swung his sword over his shoulder before he paused, Your name is Adeline?

Yes, she replied as she continued to pet the hair of the man in her lap, Adeline Murphy.

Irian smiled to himself as he walked toward the area where the voice had come from, the name suited her. One part soft and feminine and the other part unpredictable. Will you reveal yourself? he called out. He didn’t show his surprise when the young blond melded out of the shadows near him. He asked, Where is your companion, I have been sent to act as mule.

Yvonne stared up at the much larger man as she replied, This way.

*

Garth’s lids fluttered open when he heard the sound of Adeline arguing with an unknown male voice.

Woman, Irian growled as he scowled down at her with his hands curled by his sides.

Man, Adeline retorted as she crossed her arms under her chest. She barely restrained the smirk when she saw his gaze linger at her bust line. It cannot be that far, I don’t see how it’s out of your way in the slightest. I mean really if we were that much of a burden you would have just left us not near Sweetplum, not brought us deeper into the woods towards Heronrill. Since you didn’t leave us at the trapper’s cabin, it means you know that the Yammurta usually have people camped out nearby. How much farther would it be to escort us the gates of Heronrill.

Irian glared at the astoundingly stubborn woman who stood before him completely uncowed. He growled, "We have a task, we must