Home, Siege Home_A LitRPGGameLit Novel by Eric Ugland

Author:Eric Ugland [Ugland, Eric]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Air Quotes Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2019-06-13T04:00:00+00:00

Smashing! You’ve learned a new language, Lutra.

Both Lutra stopped and gave me a look. The one where they were sure I’d run out of surprises, and yet, here I was surprising them.

“When did you—” Ragnar started.

“How did you—” Skeld asked.

“Tricks of the trade,” I replied.

Skeld’s eyes immediately glazed over. I could tell he was reading something. “Motherfucker,” he said.

“What?” Ragnar said, even as his eyes glazed over and he started to read. “Well fuck me. Listen to three words and you know the language? How do you like that shit?”

“Seems cheat-y,” Skeld said, resuming his march.

“Yeah, maybe,” I replied. “But now we can talk in Lutra when we want.”

“Not exactly a subtle exchange, is it,” Ragnar. “Plus, being as you’re kind of the shiny example, there are plenty of ways around language in Vuldranni.”

“How many languages do you speak?” I asked.

“Lutra, Imperial Common, Agachnern.”

Skeld nodded. “Pretty much the same, but I have studied some Elven.”

“I didn’t realize there were so many languages in the Empire,” I said.

“Plenty of ‘em,” Ragnar replied. “There’s a reason some long-dead emperor decided there needed to be a common language.”

“How far has the common language spread?”

“Imperial Common?” Skeld asked. “No idea. Probably as far as the Emperor’s coin has spread. Not sure you noticed, but the Imperials prefer to do everything the Imperial way. So if you want to trade with the Empire, you better speak Imperial.”

“Clearly not something you need to worry about,” Ragnar interjected, “seeing how you can just speak any language you damn well please.”

“I was just curious,” I said. “I’d like to get a larger picture of the world.”

“Asking the wrong otters,” Skeld said.

“I know plenty,” Ragnar countered.

“Not this again. You know what you overheard at the tavern.”

“The tavern is the centerpiece of life in the Empire.”

“Not the tavern in Saumiers. That’s the centerpiece of drunks and liars.”

“How would you know? You weren’t there.”

“I know who was there.”

“Besides me?”

“Shut up you two,” I said. “I think I hear something.”

Something echoed down the tunnel in front of us. A low sort of rumbling, with the occasional sharp crack. It was a sound I’d never heard before, but it made me think we’d probably come close to our quarry. Both Lutra crouched, weapons out.

We moved slower, sliding our feet along so we didn’t make the loud sucking noises that came with pulling them all the way clear of the muck. The muck had grown increasingly viscous, and the acrid smell coming off it more pungent. If I had to make a guess, it was another sign we were getting closer. Fresh worm poop. Or slime. Poop slime. The thought made my stomach turn.

The tunnel made a sharp angle upward, and the incline let the poopmuck flow down in slow waves. I pushed forward, until I could see up the hill. It went up about five hundred feet, until my view was blocked by what had to be the butt of the banded worm. It was big. Really big. All I could see was that butt.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.