Monsters Mayhem & Misfits 4: A LitRPG Fantasy by Jack Spry & Marcus Sloss

Author:Jack Spry & Marcus Sloss [Spry, Jack & Sloss, Marcus]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Royal Guard Publishing LLC
Published: 2024-03-20T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter

Sixteen

Josh sat at the head of the table. Elowen and Lex sat on either side of him, followed by Melody and Arabella, then Cassandra and Vella. The inn was alive with the chopped chatter of goblins and hobs, and having spent a few days among them, Josh was beginning to understand them.

Tant served up the Yinter fruit, and the other goblin girls delivered plate after plate of steaming goblin cuisine. Josh thanked the girls, trying his hand at speaking goblin and getting it horribly wrong.

“One thing I don’t understand,” Melody said. “Why did we give the Sinter Stone away?” She scratched her head. “Forget I said that. I’m just tired, I guess. We didn’t give it away, did we?”

“No darling,” said Cassandra. “We gave them as good as. They think they have it, and they’ll progress because the thought of having it will drive them.”

“They have the troll territory now,” Josh said. “They can learn to fish, to gather across the river. Cedric’s already talking about establishing a village closer to the surface as a sort of waystation. The placebo effect is real.” He grinned.

“But,” Melody persisted. “If not having the stone but believing you have the stone is good enough, why do we want to keep it?”

“Ah,” said Josh, “There’s a damn good reason for that. We know we’ve got the Sinter Stone. If we gave it away, we’d know we didn’t have it. So, we’d get none of its supposed developments.”

Melody clicked her fingers. “That’s the bit I don’t understand. I knew there was something, and I’m pretty intelligent. I can’t think how badly Bels is struggling.”

Arabella gave her a whack, then asked, “But how will we benefit?”

“Unknown,” said Josh.

Elowen cleared her throat. “I can add a bit of information. The hobs in Renger House had some tomes on it. They theorized what would happen after the loss of the Sinter Stone. The effects they attributed to the stone were higher societal organization, a desire to progress and develop, better physical attributes and an instinctive understanding when they were in danger. They suggested that without the stone, they’d not foresee ogre attacks, that their society would degenerate, and that they’d all age.”

“Most of which didn’t happen,” Cassandra said.

“They look perfectly youthful.” Josh called over Tant and asked her for another jug of ale. “They look in fine fettle.”

Lex slapped him. “You have six beauties sitting right here. That should be enough.”

“But they’re green,” Josh said with a smirk. He stretched. “It’s a great number, six, too. Plus, the bed upstairs is just the right size.”

“So,” Elowen continued, undeterred. “Some but not all of those things didn’t come true. I deduce that the Sinter Stone slowly turns a society around—like it did with the trolls, but that effect roots in the society, and when the stone isn’t there anymore, it may well fade, but the changes could be so deep-rooted that nothing changes.”

“Getting back to us. If we keep it, what happens?” Melody asked.

“We become even closer, even more

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